Insert These Are Our Moments Here
by Library Arcanium
Summary: Through all our adventures, some stories are nothing more than brief flickers, but are more valuable than gold. These are some of these tales, moments frozen in time...Combee: Bee Yourself
1. Adrian: Lessons and Leadershipping

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library

A/N: _I've been thinking about this for awhile and have been eager to do this story. It's a collaboration story of sorts. See, each Society member will submit to a brief one-shot that is a 'glimpse' into their daily lives in the Society. These moments can be anything. A mission to capture a Stu/Sue, a conversation with fellow Agents, a humorous moment, etc, etc. I'm doing this not only for reading enjoyment, but to give some of the lesser-known Society members some more screen time._

_Confused as to what I'm asking for? Well, if you've read a multi-chapter 'drabble' story for any fandom, it's kinda like that. Except ours are much longer than a few hundred words. If you're still confused, than just read what I've got and it'll become clear to you._

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_(Takes place after 'Insert Halcyon Days Here')_

Adrian: _Lessons and Leadershipping…_

Tash grunted as the air was forced out of her lungs as Adrian's kneecap slammed into her gut and sent her tumbling and flying across the training mat where she landed in a heap. "Erk…!"

The Librarian frowned and rested _Hoshikuzu_, in its sword form, against his shoulder and cocked his head at her curiously. "Why are you lying down that? We're training…this is no time to be napping…"

"So far…" Tash grumbled as she got to her feet and picked up her staff from where it had fallen a few inches away. Like Adrian's staff, it was made out of a magical wood (that looked strangely like oak…), but it resembled Saruman's staff from the _Lord of the Rings Trilogy_, save for its coloration and the fire-red stone mounted in the top. A long ribbon was tied near the top and trailed off. "Your 'training' has consisted of nothing but you beating on me…."

"I know how you learn, Tash…you learn by doing, not by having someone tell you…" Adrian twirled his sword in a complex pattern before snapping it down to his side. "Now…come on and fight…" Then he charged at her, blade a blur of motion.

The British girl swore and caught his sword along the length of her staff and swept it aside before thrusting at him with the other end. He twisted to the side and slid around the attack, slamming his elbow into her face, ducking even as she staggered back and swung blindly at him, staff whooshing over his head. The Librarian launched upwards, clocking her hard on the jaw and sending toppling over on her butt again.

"_Bollocks!"_ She moaned and rubbed at her sore jaw, blinking away the pain. "That hurt!"

"It's supposed to…" Adrian helped her to her feet and looked sternly at her. "_Juari-ken _is a fighting style that requires a strong offense and is not meant to defend with. Instead of blocking, you're supposed to counter-attack!"

"Well, it's not as easy it looks!" She sighed and shook out her blonde hair with a hand. "And anyway, isn't_ Juari-ken _meant for a sword?"

"Well, yes…" He admitted. "But your staff is the same length as the required sword…and coupled with the magic I've been teaching you, we should be able to modify the style to suit your needs…"

Tash rolled her shoulders and gripped her staff in both hands. "Why teach it to me at all? I could fight well enough before and with the magic you've been teaching me, I should be able to hold my own."

"Uh-huh…and Willowe beating the stuffing out of you was an accident?" As Tash flushed sheepishly, Adrian turned and walked back to the other side of the mat. "Now…c'mon. Let's try this again…" He turned back to face her and brought _Hoshikuzu_ up into an attack position. "I've shown you how all of the attacks work…so hurry up and try them out already!" With that, he sprinted towards and leapt into the air, dropping towards her with sword extended.

Tash watched him come towards her and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before planting her staff-point first into the ground and then jumping up, _landing _on the other end of the staff and then jumping off of that in a split second, vaulting herself even higher than she normally could, gripping the ribbon tightly in her hand. _"Juari-Ken…"_ She yanked hard on the ribbon, pulling the staff free of the ground and whipping towards Adrian, flames arcing from the gemstone. _"Shinanori!" (Dancing Flame-Sky Rocket Burst!)_ Burst of fire erupted from the staff.

Adrian reacted instantly, blocking or slashing the bursts of flame apart but then Tash's staff slammed into shoulder-point first and he went crashing to the ground. "ahh..not…bad…" Then he rolled out of the way as Tash dropped, staff stabbing down where his head had just been. "Building up a little grudge against me till now…?"

"A little…" The Chief Agent twirled her staff in both hands as Adrian jack-knifed to his feet and dropped into an odd crouching stance, right leg tucked close while her left was extended out as far it could go and her staff rested against the length of her right arm and over that shoulder. _"Juari-Ken-Tairenso! (Dancing Flame-Whirling Hell Wind!) _Then she catapulted forwards, whirling and spinning as flames streamed out the gemstone, enveloping her and transforming her to a small tornado of flames.

'_Librarian Art 8-Pillars of Knowledge!" _He stabbed his blade into the ground and the six stone pillars burst from the floor and slammed towards Tash. A small grin appeared on his face as Tash's attack simply melted and destroyed the pillars without even slowing her down. (_Excellent…she's putting more effort into her attacks. Even at half-strength, my attacks aren't enough…) _But then he dashed forwards, dropping low and sweeping Tash's feet from out from under her.

"Ack!" Tash toppled, the flames from her attack dispersing harmlessly. Hitting the floor with an 'ooof!', she scowled and rolled over to glare at the smirking Librarian. "That's not fair! You taught me the technique, so you know all the weak points!"

"There is no 'fair' or 'unfair' in battle…only striking the enemy's vulnerabilities." He chided her and his head snapped back as her heel caught his chin hard. "…See…you're learning…"

She growled and rose to her knees, swiping at him with her staff, but he saw it coming and jumped back lightly, the blow passing harmlessly below his legs. "Hold still!" Then she was on her feet, sprinting at him and twirling her staff, flames igniting at both ends and it swung up at him.

He easily blocked the blow. "What's that going to…"

"_Juari-Ken- Doryuto!" (Dancing Flame- Rising Star Slam!)_ Tash's foot shot up and she kicked her staff hard, the blow actually lifting Adrian off his feet as his eyes widened slightly in surprise, fire trailing the staff's path and enfluging him.

The British girl wasn't finished as she jumped up and brought her staff down towards her boyfriend's head. _"Juari-Ken- Doryuta!" (Dancing Flame- Falling Star Crush!) _Even as Adrian blocked again, she slammed her palm into her staff, doubling the force of her swing and causing the Librarian to slam into the mat below as a second wave of fire effulged him.

Landing lightly on her feet, she smirked as he got back to his feet slowly, brushing off bits of ash and putting out little flames on his trenchcoat. "How was that…?"

He grinned at her and twirled _Hoshikuzu _lightly, cat ears twitching. "Not bad…you caught me by surprise. But it's going to take more than that…" Then he flash-stepped out of sight, reappearing behind her and sword drawn back to strike.

"_Juari-Ken…" _Tash twisted her staff behind her and blocked the blow, before whirling on her heel and slamming her staff through Adrian's guard and into his chest. _"…Gihardi!" (Dancing Flame-Striking Phoenix Talon!)_ As the force of her counter-attack shoved Adrian backwards, flames erupted from the impact point and hurtled him backwards off the mat and wreathing his form in flames.

"GAH!" Surprised and a little fearful at what she had done, the girl dropped her staff and dashed towards her significant other, dropping to her knees and skidding the last few feet, halting near his prone form. "Adrian!"

Flames mostly extinguished, the Librarian coughed out a mouthful of soot and patted out the few remaining smoldering embers on his coat. "I'm…I'm alright…" Tash helped him sit up and he coughed again. "I smell like burnt kitty…" Scowling, he pulled his tail around and gently pinched out a flame that had been burning on the tip.

"I'm sorry!" She hugged him tightly. "I didn't mean hurt you like that! I kinda forgot myself in the heat of the moment…"

He waved her concerns away. "It's alright, Tash…I should have expected for you learn _Juari-Ken_ so quickly…and getting knocked around during combat training is to be expected. Otherwise, we're not doing it right and then my lessons are worthless…"

"Hmmm-mmm…" Tash hugged him again and stroked his hair a little. "I'm still sorry…."

"Don't be…" Adrian hugged her back. "It's just a sign that my lessons are taking effect. Means you're a good student…"

"And you're a good teacher…" She kisses his cheek and ran a hand down his arm lightly. "Mmmm…you give me all these lessons and I don't give you anything in return…"

He flushed and smiled. "That's fine, dear one…Just knowing you can defend yourself is enough for me…mmph!" He was silenced as she kissed him on the lips.

Breaking the kiss, she continued speaking and ran a hand over his chest. "So I was thinking…if you teach me how to fight…" She kissed him again and then kissed his jawline. "That I'll teach you how to love…" Another kiss.

Adrian sighed a little at her touches and nodded slowly. "Sounds like a fair deal to me…"

"I was hoping you'd say that…" She pushed him over onto his back and pulled herself on top of him. "Now…just let me show you how it's done…and then you can try, alright?" Without waiting for an answer, she kissed him again and then kissed at his jawline. "First…you have to start slow…" Her hands trailed over his chest.

"Hmmm…" He nodded contentedly at her. "And then…?"

"You work at it a little…" She tilted his head back and planted a series of kisses down his neck, eliciting a soft sigh from him while one hand rubbed his arm and the other stroked one his kitty ears.

A giggle escaped her as she realized that Adrian had stated to purr softly. "Awww…is my kitty content…?" She rubbed harder at his ear and kissed at the hollow his throat.

He sighed again and the purring got a little louder. "Yeah…" His tail twitched and then wrapped itself around her leg, causing another set of giggles to escape from her.

"Naughty tail…" She smirked at him and then nipped at his throat and he shivered a little as she walked her fingers across his chest. "And do you know what the third step is…?"

A third sigh. "What…?" He rubbed at her back.

Tash smiled and rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around him. "Leave them wanting more…"

"No fair…" He pouted at her, ears twitching.

Another smirk and she scooted forwards to kiss him again. "All's fair in love and war, my love…"

"Fine…" Adrian cuddled her close and stroked her hair. "Any chance I could get you to get off me…?"

"No. You're a good pillow." Tash told him and curled up on top of him, resting against his chest.

He chuckled and closed his eyes, both of them enjoying the moment and the peaceful feeling that swept through them…

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Aww…they're so cute!" Lauren smirked and tilted her head as she watched the two leaders sleep.

Harriett nodded her agreement and folded her arms across her chest. "About time…took them long enough…" She smirked. "Michael owes me twenty bucks…"

Lauren glanced at her with a slight frown. "You took bets on when they'd get together?"

"No…how long it'd be when they start acting like love-doves in public." The Society's founder smirked again. "He thought it'd be at least two weeks. It's only been one…"

"But they don't they're in public…" Lauren pointed into the training room where the pair slept.

Harriett waved it away. "Semantics." There was a flash and then a click. "Wha…?"

Aster smirked from between the pair where she had suddenly appeared and lifted her camera, taking another picture. "It's blackmail material…so I can get all the manga I want."

The other two girls looked at one another, then Aster and then back at each other again, sly grins appearing on their faces as they pulled out cameras and aimed them towards the sleeping pair…

Only to see Tash gripping her staff and pointing it at them without getting off her pillow. "No…pictures!"

The three girls dropped their cameras and ran, screaming as a burst of flame leapt from the staff.

"KYAA~…!"

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_See what I mean? Just a special little moment of your fic-self and the Society and such. I'll alter the summary every time I post a different person's. My profile page should let you all get to my e-mail, so please e-mail me your entry and I'll edit, beta and post it ASAP. But be sure to put 'Society Entry' in the tagline, otherwise I might delete it. Please put your best effort forth and my reviewing rules apply to all the entries, not just mine. So good luck, have fun and write!_

_Also, there's a poll on my profile. It's kinda moot now, but vote anyway!_

_Later Days, y'all!_


	2. Tyler: Magic and Mayhem

Insert These Are Our Moments Here

By Master of the Library

(And Guests)

A/N: _This is Tyler's work not my own. Please read and review…hey, I just realized, I can't review since it's my postings…but you guys can review your own entries…pretty cool, eh?_

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_My submission to the "Insert Our Moments Here," collaboration started by Master of the Library._

_(Set a while after "Insert an Overkill of Jutsu Here," so Sumire is still, stuck in her room)_

******

_Tyler: Magic and Mayhem (Mostly Mayhem)_

Tyler headed into a completely random area of the Library, closed his eyes, spun in a circle for several minutes, stopped, selected the book he was pointing at, then sat down to read. He read for a few minutes, then….

"Tyler! You're supposed to be guarding Sumire!"

Tyler groaned.

"Just a second!"

******

_Several hours later…._

Tyler finished hammering nails into the door to Sumire's room. He was about to leave when he remembered Sumire would probably need to breathe. He hammered in another nail, then pulled it out, leaving an air hole in the door. Tyler turned to leave…

SHING!

Tyler spun and saw a pencil sticking out from the wall opposite the air hole. He studied the opening for a moment, then the pencil quivering to a halt across from it…and then put up caution tape. He returned to the quiet area he had found and continued to read.

******

_Ten minutes later…._

"Emergency missions everyone! Report to the meeting room now!"

Tyler groaned, already slipping out his ping-pong paddle.

******

_Five hours later…_

Tyler had returned to the quiet corner and resumed reading his book. He heard some screams from outside, but they didn't sound like anyone was severely injured, so he continued reading. Then….

"GET BACK HERE WITH MY COOKIES!!!" Tash, Harriet, and Lauren came running through, followed by Adrian. One of the cookies was dropped, and Tyler picked it up and began to snack on it, watching as the three Society Leaders were chased by the fourth around the room and out the door.

He continued reading uninterrupted for half an hour until there was a loud blast of noise coming from about four shelves away. Tyler ran over and found Aster slowly disentangling herself from a mass of duct tape and superglue. She picked up what looked to Tyler like a comic book and began to read.

Tyler watched this strange event, then went back to his own row and delved back into his book. After another few minutes of reading, growling noises started coming from a nearby door. Tyler walked over to the door, noticing the computerized locks. He decided the door was best left alone and went back to reading.

******

Tyler was still reading his book in peace until Adrian walked in. The Librarian seemed to be looking for something. He continued through the shelves until he saw Aster reading her comic book.

"Aster! What did I say about you reading manga!?"

"_Oh, so that's what it's called,_" thought Tyler. "_I wonder how it's different from a regular comic book."_

After Adrian had chased Aster away from the manga, he noticed Tyler in the corner.

"Hi," said Adrian. Tyler looked up, startled. Well, okay, startled was kind of an understatement. He jumped three feet in the air. Then he realized who was talking to him.

"Hello Adrian." Tyler then returned to reading. Adrian walked over.

"What are you reading?"

"Spellcasting for Dummies. These books are more useful than you'd think."

"Yeah, they usually are…" The Librarian murmured, glancing at the book titles as he searched. "Explain everything so simply…

"They sure do…"

Adrian continued to search, muttering to himself. Tyler ignored this until something poked him in the side of the head.

"Ow! What was that?!" Tyler looked around indignantly until he noticed Adrian's tail. He frowned.

"You have a tail?" Tyler looked up and realized that the Librarian also had cat ears.

"Okay, that's really weird." Tyler moved over to another corner so as not to be poked in the head. "Now that I won't get poked, why do you look like someone who went as a cat for Halloween and forgot to take off their costume?"

"Some spell that Tash put on me." Then the two Agents heard Tash screaming something about bladed pendulums. Adrian looked around, suddenly quite pale-looking.

"_Librarian Art 7; Mystery Vanish!"_ Adrian threw down a smoke pellet and disappeared in a puff of smoke. When Tyler was done coughing, Adrian was gone.

"Hmmm, guess it worked." Then Tyler heard a moan from behind him. He turned around to see Adrian literally embedded in the wall. Tyler winced.

"That's gotta hurt…"

******

_One hour later…._

Thought Marcus walked through the Library, looking for his counterpart, Emotion Marcus. Said entity was running wild through the sci-fi section, screaming like a sugar-high kid on an upside-down roller coaster. Thought Marcus noticed Tyler still reading in the corner.

"H-hey T-t-tyler, have y-you seen E-e-emotion M-marcus?"

"No idea, but judging by the sound of the screams, he probably went thataway," replied the junior Society member. Thought Marcus walked off in search of his copy.

******

After three more visitors had disturbed Tyler's reading, he had flipped to the index in the book, found a spell for silence, and promptly used it. Unfortunately, he had mispronounced the incantation and the area inside the field was now giving off an angry buzz. However, this didn't bother Tyler. At least the buzz was consistent.

After another few hours, he had finally finished his book. He dispelled the silence field and was about to leave his corner when he noticed another book on the wall….

"HEY, DUMMY, YOU ONLY FINISHED THE BOOK ON HOW MAGIC WORKED AND CAN BE LEARNED A FEW WEAK SPELLS! THIS IS WHERE IT'S AT, SO GET READIN'!"

Naturally, Tyler returned his first book, picked up the second one, plopped himself down, recast his silence spell, and resumed reading.

*****

Adrian was running for his life through the Library. No, not from Silver or Mary-Ann. From a very,very, angry Tash. Not: "You played a prank and I'll play one on you," angry. This was more like, "I'm going to kill you so start running," angry. She had tried to take one of his remaining cookies, and a bladed pendulum had shredded her hat into….well, shreds.

This _really _ticked her off. Adrian skidded a corner into the how-to area, where Tyler was learning how to make writing utensils fight each other to the death. At the moment, he was pitting a thin pencil against a stainless-steel pen. The pen had a heavy right sweep, but the pencil was dodging almost every attack aimed at it. Finally, Tyler got bored and swiped the two writing implements off the table, returning them to their usual inanimate state. He was about to try another spell that would supposedly create a flash of green light when Adrian tore through the area, followed by a nothing-less-than-murderous-looking Tash.

Just as Tash was about to attack Adrian with a vicious blast of fire, the two Marcuses slammed into each other, Tyler cast his flash spell at an unusual level of volume, and Adrian tried his Mystery Vanish. The combined blast left Tash, Adrian, Marcus, and Tyler half-blind, singed, gelatinous, and stuck in a wall. By the time they had all unstuck themselves (Not easy to do as living Jell-O), Tash had stopped being mad at Adrian, Adrian had given up running for his life, Marcus was already bored of being one person again, and Tyler had gotten over his shellshock from being jammed into a wall.

However, they were all still pretty much liquid, thanks to the fusion blast from Marcus' talisman. Marcus was the first to solidify. He walked off, slightly dizzy. Next was Tash, who dragged Adrian out of the wall and then hauled him away so they could make-up 'properly', as she put it. Tyler slowly reformed, then continued reading his book.

******

Tyler was still reading his book when Willie walked by, muttering something about being a main character. Tyler chose to ignore this.

Instead, he started practicing an offensive spell that would shoot a burst of purple light at the desired point, up to 20 feet away. At least, that's what it was _supposed _to do. Tyler kept missing the paper cup he was using a target, and the magic would fizzle out before hitting anything. After his twentieth try, he finally hit the cup, sending it flying off the table with a scorch mark where the magic had hit.

He then started working on a spell that would project a beam of red light in front of the caster to light a path. Next was a spell to, hopefully, toss a white sphere of energy which would instantly solidify upon contact with anything. Tyler began practicing on the cup again. This time, the problem had nothing to do with Tyler's ability to control magic, but his pathetic throwing arm. His first throw flew over the cup, his second fell short. His third shot send the cup spinning into the air, then landing on Tyler's head like a dunce cap.

******

_Many hours later….._

Tyler had finally finished the second book, after accidentally setting himself on fire three times.

He put down the book, then realized that it was almost midnight. Tyler put his book away, and slowly walked back to his room. Even then, he didn't sleep. He stayed up until one, memorizing the various spells he had learned. When he finally slept, his dreams were filled with flashes of light and darkness, color and gray.

"_Of course, that's pretty much the norm for me, I have dreams like that every night."_

******

_Well, even though the ending was really weird, I hope you liked it! And yes, Tyler might use magic in future Society fics, although with mixed results._

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_Now that was pretty good, I thought. _

_Like I said, I corrected any errors (Not that there many to correct. Good job, Tyler!) and tweaked it a bit to help everyone stay in character. I hope for more entries from all of you Society Agents and would like to remind other readers that this collaboration is open only to Society members. (I've gotten a few entries from people I know aren't Agents, so I sent them in Mei's direction. Hehe…she'll kill me for giving her more paperwork…) _


	3. Marcus: Love and Loopholes

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library  
And Guests

A/N: _This here is Marcus' entry and I've got to say, I was pleasantly surprised. It added a side to a character I thought I already knew…just goes to show that no matter how good we authors get, we can still be surprised…_

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(_Takes place after 'Insert Halcyon Days Here)_

Marcus: Love and Loopholes

_Okay,_ Marcus thought, opening a portal and tiptoeing into the Library Arcanium. _A few more feet and I'm home free!_

"MARCUS!" Tash's voice rang out. "MY OFFICE, NOW!"

A sweatdrop appearing on his head, Marcus slumped his way into Tash's office, dreading what was about to come. Tash couldn't know! She just couldn't!

"HOW COULD YOU EVEN THINK OF BECOMING ROMANTICALLY ENTANGLED WITH A CANON CHARACTER?!" she demanded as soon as he walked in, seeing her and Adrian absolutely furious.

She knew.

"You know the rules!" Adrian added, the tip of his tail twitching in irritation. "We can't interfere! We maintain the status quo, not inject ourselves into the stories!"

"What you're doing is a terrible risk to a fandom!" Tash declared, her wig nearly flopping off her head.

"Don't be a hypocrite, Tash!" Marcus argued, momentarily gaining some courage. "You've made out with dozens of canon characters!"

Tash glared back at him, her eyes burning with ire. "That may be true," she said. "But I leave it at that! I have my fun and then wipe their memories as soon as I'm finished, not take them to dinner!"

"And she doesn't even do _that _anymore!" Adrian chipped in.

Marcus began to sweat. Aster had told him about these hearings. They were never pleasant.

"Maybe so," he said. "But it's not like I'm disrupting it or anything! Junko never gets any romantic interest in the series—his sexuality is never even revealed! Why is this a problem?"

"Why is it a _problem_!?" Adrian repeated, stunned. "You're taking up a character's time and energy, and putting non-canon thoughts in their head! Minimal interference can add up, you know!"

"Why didn't you wipe his memory the first time?" Tash inquired.

At this, Marcus surprised them by smiling.

"I did," he said. "But he still seemed to recognize me when I came back. I guess it's harder to penetrate a Wallop's skull…"

"How long ago was _that_?" Adrian asked.

Marcus' smile dropped and he began sweating harder. "A-about a month…"

"A _MONTH_?!" Marcus's two bosses screamed.

"How could you have been doing this for so long!?" Adrian scowled "This is utterly unprofessional!"

"I'm sorry!" Marcus groveled. "I just…couldn't resist…"

"Well, you'll have to start resisting!" Tash screamed. "I want you to personally wipe your own influence from the Storm Hawks fandom right now! Take an advanced memory eraser spell and get going!"

"And no making out on the way!" Adrian insisted.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

It was with a heavy heart that Marcus trekked back into the Storm Hawks fandom with a Level 2 Memory Bomb, which would wipe out all memory of non-canon

interaction in the fandom as soon as it was set off. This was a painful thing to do—after all, saying good-bye is never easy.

His eyes quite dry, but his heart breaking (he never cried without splitting himself, no matter how much he wanted or needed to), Marcus walked across the Wayside terra to find the _Condor_ and its crew, who had grown quite familiar with him due to his frequent visits.

"Back already, Marcus?" Aerrow said, carrying an armload of fresh fuel crystals for the ship. "Usually it's once a day, if that."

Marcus tried to grin, but said nothing.

"Well," Aerrow continued. "Don't know how you keep finding us, but Junko's inside…"

"Thanks," was all Marcus could muster as he wandered into the airship and made his way to Junko's room.

"Hey!" Junko said, spreading a grin. "Can't believe you're back already! Couldn't wait for the trip to Terra Ray?"

Marcus shook his head, but didn't speak for a minute.

"I can't come back," he finally choked out. "Not ever."

Junko's face went to that adorable confused look that is so common among his kind.

"Why not?" he asked, his ears drooping as his voice cracked. "You've been coming for weeks…"

"I know," the agent replied. "And I risked my job doing it. I can't do it anymore."

A tear appeared in Junko's eye.

"I'll miss you…"

Marcus shook his head again.

"No," he said. "You won't."

Hesitantly, Marcus reached into his pocket and pulled out the red sphere that was the Level 2 Memory Bomb. He grappled with himself to press the detonator, but just before he could, Junko grabbed him in a bone-crushing hug and burst into tears. Marcus took comfort in his strong arms, and the two leaned closer, their lips about to meet when—

"_Marcus." _Adrian's voice called out

Marcus whipped around to see his boss behind him, looking at him sternly.

"A-Adrian," he stuttered. "I-I thought you were letting me handle this!"

"And I thought I told you to stop what you were doing and just wipe everyone's memories." His sharp gaze softened a bit. "I know how hard it is to say goodbye. I've said a lot of them in my time….but the rules exist for a reason. Go back to the Library… I'll erase it."

Frowning, Marcus silently opened a portal back to the Library Arcanium and leapt through.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

A few hours later, a few other agents came to talk to Marcus.

"So," Willie asked. "How much trouble are you in?"

"A lot," Marcus replied. "Tash put me on a heavy probation, and Adrian set up an alarm spell in the Storm Hawks fandom. If I set one foot in there, he'll know, and I'll be dusting the reference section for months!"

"Tough, man," Michael sighed. "But you gotta admit, you broke a major rule here."

"What is it like to have the passion to do such a thing?" Doyle asked. "I'm afraid I'll never know…"

"Honestly, though," Claire chipped in. "You never considered finding somebody from your own world?"

"Of course I considered it!" Marcus snapped in one of his rare outbursts. "Things aren't easy back there! If it's not prejudice over my sexuality, it's a lack of connection on a personal level! But no, it's easy for you three!"—he pointed to Willie—"_You're _a fictional character with plenty of charisma,"—he turned to Doyle—"_You _don't have emotions,"—his eyes rested on Michael and Claire—"And you two dug half an inch in your own backyards and struck 24-karat gold! Honestly, I joined the Society to _escape_ my problems in reality, not find more of them!"

Claire took a long, hard look at him before speaking.

"You can't escape reality," she finally said. "No matter where you go, your problems will find you. You have to face them head-on. I mean, look at me," she chuckled. "My boyfriend's possessed by an evil entity, but I make it work."

Marcus shook his head, but managed one of those totally fake smiles.

"Well," he asked. "What do I do with my time now?"

"That's up to you," Willie told him. "You mentioned that you were aiming to be the next Librarian. You could spend some time studying."

"And maybe work on your wardrobe," Claire suggested. "Those sweats are _not_ flattering."

Marcus thought for a moment, then smiled and ran off.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Adrian wandered into the intermediate spells section of the Library to find an agent he had never seen before—or so he thought. Marcus had indeed changed his wardrobe. His new outfit seemed heavily based on the Invisible Man, with a large trenchcoat with a puffy white shirt underneath, bandages wrapped all around his face, long, dark pants, black leather gloves, and shiny black shoes. Not an inch of his skin was showing, and he had an umbrella slung over his back and a book propped up before him.

"Emotion Marcus?" the Librarian inquired (he knew because instead of the wire-frame glasses with clip-on shades, he was wearing regular glasses with lenses too thick for anyone to see his eyes through. "Where's your other half?"

"W-working on an a-a-art p-p-proj-ject i-in m-my o-office," Thought Marcus said, not looking up. "Y-you kn-now, w-w-with-thout th-thought h-holding h-h-him b-back f-from r-r-raw em-m-motions, h-he m-may b-be th-the w-w-world's g-great-test a-artist…"

"Yeah, I've seen his work," Adrian said admiringly. "So, what're you reading?"

"J-just s-some s-spells," Thought Marcus replied. "L-learning the th-theor-ries b-b-beh-hind th-them…"

Adrian frowned.

"You're not studying how to break my alarm spell, are you?" he accused.

"N-no, n-no," Thought Marcus replied. "J-just l-look-k-king u-up u-usef-ful sp-spells…"

"Oh, okay," Adrian said, a smile returning. "Good to see you're using your time wisely, and to see how well you're dealing with what you've been through. Carry on."

As Adrian walked out, Thought Marcus's eyes returned to the book. It was true that he wasn't looking up how to _break_ the alarm spell, but he _was _searching for a way to _exploit _it, and he had a feeling he'd just found it. The hunch he'd had earlier was right. You see, Emotion Marcus was not actually working on an art project, but retrieving something that would be very useful, and Thought Marcus had found a spell he'd need soon. It was only a matter of time now…

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

That night, Marcus waited until everyone else was asleep and pulled his portal gun out of his desk. Carefully, he adjusted the settings to manipulate the size of the portal, finally shooting open a vortex no bigger than a nickel. Chuckling to himself, he pulled out the other necessary component to this plan: a talisman copy. Emotion Marcus had snuck into the Jackie Chan Adventures fandom and borrowed it so that Thought Marcus could perform the duplication spell that he'd studied up on and make a copy of it.

_If there's one thing Marcus Pate knows how to do,_ he thought to himself. _It's exploit a loophole._

Using the talisman copy, he projected his astral form, a spirit that cannot be sensed in any way, as his body collapsed, useless. He wormed his way through the tiny portal (he'd made it small so nothing else could pass through and cause trouble), and flew across the Atmos, finally locating the _Condor_ on Terra Amazonia. He swooped down and passed right through the walls to Junko's room, seeing just what he'd hoped to find: Junko snoring loudly on his bed, clutching his teddy bear tight. With a snicker, Marcus dove right into the Wallop's head and entered his mind.

Within the fantasy, Junko's dream self was sitting at a table eating a mountain of burgers, barely pausing between bites. Marcus smiled and landed beside him, then tapped him on the shoulder. Junko stopped eating and stared at him for a minute.

"…Do I know you…?" he asked. "You seem…familiar…"

Beneath the bandages, Marcus smiled.

"I'm the man of your dreams, Junko."

TTTTTTTTT

_A/N: __Wasn't that a nice surprise? Way to go, Marcus! And to the rest of you, get your entries to me as soon as you can! I can't wait to read more of them!_

_Later Dayz, ya'll!_


	4. Kyle: Training Session

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library  
(And Guests)

A/N: _Here's another interesting one. I'm surprised at the creativity you guys are coming up with on these entries…Keep it up!_

TTTTTT

Kyle: Training Session

(Takes place shortly after *Insert Berserk Battlecry Here*)

*****************************************************************************

Inside a specific room in the Library Arcanium, the agent known as Kyle was training. After his battle with Deary Attrim Marie Nastasia Manson Alto Docker, he asked Adrian for a special training room. One of the main features of this room was its padding, dark padding covered the floor and all of the walls. The reason for this...

"Deadly Impact!" Kyle's fist struck a steel panel hanging from a chain safely away from a wall and basically turned it into a bowl. As it was swinging away, Kyle's body felt the force behind the blow recoil back and then he was sent flying backwards into a padded wall.

...is very obvious. Well, that's why he was training. He knew that he couldn't be hesitant with his innate abilities any longer if he was to avoid using his ultimate skill. That thought crossed his mind as he was pulling himself to a standing position. The _Heaven and Earth, Worldly Secret Art_, an ability that allowed his soul to exceed the limits of his body. However, this ability burned his candle of life at its brightest and that meant he was cutting into his lifespan with each use. Shaking his head, he gathered himself and leaped at a large punching bag.

"Titanic Blow!" Both of his fists slammed, only millimeters apart, into the bag, which proceeded to break off its support and land a few feet away. Just like the Deadly Impact, the force of the blow recoiled back and sent him flying back into a wall. With the recoil that much stronger because of it using both fists, it took him a bit longer to recover. Stumbling away from the wall, he took some breaths and steadied himself.

He was breathing heavily from the combined effort of his training and the drawbacks of his abilities. In-between breaths, he managed to say to the room itself, "Renew targets."

At once, hundreds of training targets of various kinds appeared out of nowhere or repaired themselves to pristine condition. Having recovered his breath enough, Kyle continued with his training. Visibly focusing energy into his left hand, he shoved it palm forward and shouted, "Aurora Grenade!"

A sphere of ever-shifting colors shot toward a group of straw dummies and blew them to bits upon contact with the first one. However, almost immediately after it left his hand, Kyle's left arm fell numbly to his side. Mostly ignoring it, he adjusted his stance a bit and then charged towards another target. He sprung into the air a bit and utilized a kicking ability with the cry of, "Blasting Quake!"

He landed with a stomp that literally exploded underneath his feet. This explosion knocked him off his feet and then sped toward the target he had been running at. Hitting said target caused an even bigger explosion that obliterated it. With a huff, Kyle struggled to his feet. This continued for several more minutes, in which time his arm regained function and several more explosions occurred.

"Compressed Bomber!" Leaping into the air, he gathered energy in-between his hands and slammed it into an area surrounded by dummies. It exploded, of course, and demolished the dummies and sent Kyle flying once again. Landing on his back, he took a breather to inspect his hurting arms after the attack. He held them up and saw that they were greatly singed. Slowly lowering them until they lay beside him, he took a moment to decide if he wanted to quit his training for now while they heal or heal them like he did his injuries received from Deary.

Deciding to try one more technique before calling it quits so he can recover, he ignored all of his pain as he pushed himself to standing. He held his arms out in front of him, side by side, and released one of his most powerful innate abilities.

"The.. END!"

*****************************************************************************

Almost every member of the Society not out on a mission felt a massive shockwave shake the Library Arcanium. It disturbed them from whatever they had been doing at the time, but not enough to interfere with it, except for ones playing games that required near constant attention. Adrian rushed toward the epicenter of the shockwave, wondering what had caused such a quake in his Library. When he get close enough, he saw that the door to the training room had been blow clean off its hinges. He slowed down once he reached the "open" door and then went in.

The entire room had been demolished; holes leading to other parts of the Library were clearly evident. In the center of this destruction was Kyle, laying flat on his back and in obviously bad shape. Adrian decided that interrogations on the injured person could wait until he was actually awake. Picking Kyle up as best he could without aggravating the injuries, Adrian took him to the nearest medical room.

****************************************************************************

It was a few hours later when Kyle woke up. Well, technically he woke up. From the perspective of anyone who would be watching him, he might have been among the dead for how much he moved. Inside his mind, however, he was regaining access to his senses and one of the first things he felt, was pain. Instinctively flinching, he didn't realize where he was until he actually tried to move and found himself unable to. At that point, he noticed that; his hands and forearms were completely wrapped in something, something was covering his left eye, there was pressure on his torso not from a blanket, and his legs were immobilized by something.

He opened his right eye to see both his condition and the medical room he was laying in. Kyle just let himself lay there while taking stock of the situation. After a few moments of this, he let out a sigh and wondered if anyone would be visiting him. Apparently either waiting for some sign that he was awake or in response to his silent thought, Adrian and Tash stepped into his line of sight.

"Heh, so two of the leaders came to tell me off for being so stupid. I had thought that I was just going to get one of the other members coming in and telling me that the leaders were calling me an idiot. I'm truly honored," Kyle got out in a pained whisper.

"We'll get to that later. Right now, you should just be grateful that you don't have any permanent damage. Heck, you don't even have anything broken. You got incredibly lucky with that," Tash responded in a hard tone. Adrian's cat tail swished back and forth in irritation as both of the leaders glared their disapproval at the injured guy.

"My record continues, huh? I have never had a broken bone, ever," Kyle coughed out. "Yeah, I'll consider myself lucky. With my injuries, it'll take a while to let them heal naturally."

"I was unconscious when you had gone off into the Street Fighter world, but some of the Society watching you on that mission told me that you had instantly healed yourself with an aura. Why don't you just do that now so you don't have to wait?" Adrian asked with the glare still in place.

Kyle looked away for a couple of moments before answering, "Because that's merely a byproduct of the Heaven and Earth, Worldly Secret Art."

Tash's gaze softened a bit while she spoke, "I was frantic when I saw that Sue do that stuff to you. I had been wondering if I could get anyone there quickly enough to stop her. Then you pulled that trick out of your arse and obliterated her. What is this Worldly Secret Art anyway?"

He took even longer to reply this time, "It's a release. The Heaven and Earth, Worldly Secret Art allows the limitless depths of the soul to exceed the bonds of a mortal body. This allows the user to burn their candle of life at its brightest."

Adrian went from disapproving scowl to a very-disapproving scowl, "Wait a minute here. Burning a candle with a brighter flame accelerates the melting of its wax. If you apply that to a candle of life..."

"Exactly...The Heaven and Earth, Worldly Secret Art allows the user to perform almost godlike feats while their mortal lifespan gets shortened. Why do you think I was training so hard?" Kyle stated in a faintly sad voice.

"Is that also why you've always used weaponry before now? Because you didn't want to deal with the drawbacks of your skills?" Tash questioned accusingly.

Kyle coughed a few times and then replied, "Yeah, that's also true. I guess I wasn't ready to feel the weight of my power. You can go ahead and call me an idiot now."

The two leaders share a look at each other before Tash turned back to Kyle, "I said we'd get to that later. Right now, just rest."

With that, the leaders left the room quietly. Kyle let his gaze follow them until they were out of sight.

"I'm an idiot," Kyle murmured to himself. Coughing some more, he let his eye close and began willing himself to sleep.

TTTTTTTT

_A/N_: _Pretty cool, eh? With the war against the Sues and Stus getting fiercer, it looks likes everyone else is stepping up their game, too…_

_Later Dayz, y'all!_


	5. Aster: Strangely Normal

Insert These Are Our Moments Here

By Master of the Library

(And Guests)

_A/N__: This is most definitely Aster's entry…(scratches head) I have no idea what to make of it…_

TTTTTTTTT

Aster: Strangely Normal

_"Aster...Selene?"_

_Tash put the papers down on the desk. "You want to be a rookie?"_

_"Yes!" said the blue-haired girl. "I come representative of an author who wants to fix her mistakes. The only thing she can do about that is get back at Sues!"_

_"And why should I hire you, er, Miss Selene - "_

_"Don't call me that. 'Selene' is a title, not a last name."_

_"We'll need to prove you're a verifiable character. You'll take the litmus test in two hours. Until then, tell me why you want to do such a dangerous job."_

_Aster smiled and pointed at Tash. "Because it's fun!"_

It had been a while since she'd been promoted to a full-fledged agent, and even longer since she'd applied to the Society.

"押忍..."

Aster slowly walked out of her room, wearing a blue nightgown. Her hair was a mess and her eyes half-open.

"Hey, Aster," said Harriet, reading a newspaper. "Tired?"

"...mm..."

Aster was normally a bubbleheaded, hyperactive girl. However, within an hour of her waking up, it was hopeless to even try to extract a coherent response from her.

"...breakfast?"

"I dunno yet," said Tash. "I'm thinking of cooking - "

Suddenly, Lauren gave Tash a very, very sharp glare.

"Do you really want to risk poisoning everyone?"

Tash sighed. "Fine."

Tash went back down to the table, and Harriet put down her newspaper to start cooking.

Harriet eventually managed to cook a whole British meal and set it down. Aster, being Japanese, was used to eating like a bird, and it took her a ridiculously long time to finish her meal.

TTTTTTTTT

Still in a stupor, Aster slowly hobbled towards her usual manga shelf.

"Ah, Aster," said Adrian, "I forgot to tell you, I relocated all the shelves tod- "

But he couldn't finish his sentence because Aster had noticed for herself.

"_Where is my manga?_" said Aster, on the verge of strangling Adrian and seeming _very_ much awake.

"That - that way," said Adrian, pointing to the shelf right next to where it once was.

Aster calmed, and walked over. Sure enough, the manga was there.

"Thank you, Adrian君," said Aster sweetly, and she immediately picked up a copy of Azumanga Daioh.

Adrian sweatdropped. _Is this girl bipolar?_

TTTTTTTTT

While most of the other agents were on missions, Aster was staying behind - it was her day to do the day-watch. Perhaps a Sue would actually be caught, given that she wasn't around.

Aster was reading _Suzumiya Haruhi no Shoshitsu_ (The Disappearance of Suzumiya Haruhi). There were nine Haruhi novels, given, but this one, the fourth, was her favorite because it had what she deemed to be solid YukiKyon evidence.

"Come on, Kyon, she's tugging at your sleeve, inviting you to the Literature Club, and smiling...She made this world for you, idiot..."

A phone in Aster's bag rang, and Aster shut her book. She reached into her bag and pulled out an extremely cheap phone (it wasn't even a flip phone). Because she worked mainly to have anything other than food and shelter (which was paid for by Chrys's pseudo-family), she could only afford something that cheap. (However, Camille had made extentions to her mp3 player to make it compatible to an iPhone sans calling, so she was still happy.)

Aster stared at the caller ID for a minute, then picked up the phone. "Akaiちゃん? What is it this time?"

"_GET YOUR BUTT OVER HERE! HARUHI SEASON 2 IS PLAYING NOW AND YOU'RE WASTING TIME!"_ boomed an exceedingly loud voice from the other end.

"Kyaa~..." said Aster. "Television's on. I'll watch from here - "

_"Ay, Aster__ちゃん__, it's no fun without you," _said a more high-pitched, subdued voice.

"Chrysちゃん, you there too? I'll get back to you later, I have work, kyaa~"

And Aster very rudely hung up.

TTTTTTTTT

"Aster get your butt over here NOW!"

Aster put down her manga and walked to Tash's office. Tash shoved Aster her paperwork that she had filled out the week before.

Aster looked at it. Nothing seemed wrong...

"It's in _Japanese_," said Tash. "You filled out your papers in Japanese."

"Kyaa~ is that a problem?"

"Of course it's a problem!" Tash pounded more papers on the desk. "Yes, it stops them from breeding, but nobody here can understand what you've written! Not even Adrian because you write in a style he's never heard of!"

"I filled it all out, kyaa~"

"Write it in English next time - I know you can!"

And Tash duly kicked Aster out of her office.

TTTTTTTTT

Aster picked up another copy of Ga-Rei and began to read.

_Kagura had better get her memories back!_

About five minutes into her book, Aster saw out of the corner of her eye Willie popping out of nowhere, looking very strained. Aster rarely paid attention to the other non-self-insert. She didn't know what he did for fun, and she honestly didn't care.

Aster continued reading. Marcus walked up.

"Ah~? Marcus君?"

"W-w-would you h-happen t-to k-know h-how t-to do a c-conjure s-s-spell?"

It was not Marcus who was talking, but Thought Marcus. However, Aster was rather unaware of the difference between the two - as of now she didn't even know there were two parts of him.

"Conjure spell? Like, kyaa~...as in light? Spirits?"

"M-muses..."

Aster didn't know much about muses. Akai had recently declared herself to be Aster's personal muse, but only because she was the source of any crackish things that happened in her life.

"ごめんなさい, Marcus君. I wouldn't know."

"O-okay. T-that's fine."

Thought Marcus walked away. Aster returned to her manga.

Not too long after, Miri walked up to Aster and said, "Have you seen Aniki or Clairey anywhere?"

Aster shook her head.

But soon after Miri departed, Aster saw Claire chasing Michael playfully. Claire eventually grabbed onto Michael and snogged him.

Aster chose to say nothing about Miri.

The next time Adrian saw Aster that afternoon, he saw her reading _Pride and Prejudice_.

"Oh?" said Adrian. "You're reading a classic?"

"Mm," said Aster.

"Well then," said Adrian. "You do read classics often?"

"I go to school," said Aster. "I have to read things."

Adrian was somewhat impressed...maybe Aster did have a degree of intelligence...

Then Aster said, "The plot of _Hana Yori Dango_ was somewhat based on this book."

Adrian twitched and started to strangle the air, something he was doing more recently when he talked to Aster…

TTTTTTTTT

"Lunchtime!"

Valerie was cooking. She was quite a good cook, too. However, it had taken a lot of effort to convince Tash that it was not a good idea to risk having Society members vomiting profusely on the ground, and thus she was forced to back down from her attempts to make lunch.

Once again, Aster took an exceedingly long time to eat her meal of ham and cheese sandwiches. Not only was she eating like a bird, but she also was reading the Lucky Star manga while eating.

After lunch, Aster put her manga away and pulled an obscure Korean drama DVD off the shelf. She put it in Adrian's DVD player and watched.

As she watched, she saw Camille and Doyle walk to a nearby table and play chess against each other. It was a long game, and eventually the two departed. Aster didn't bother to find out who won.

Blake also walked idly by, looking for something. He momentarily stopped next to Aster and opened his mouth, but thought better of it, decided not to talk, and left.

TTTTTTTTT

After Aster had finished with her DVD, she asked Adrian to lend her a training room, which he obliged. Aster wanted to work on something: her magical girl act.

Shifting between Aster's human and fae form required actually little effort, and involved nothing more than a flash of light. However, Aster would not stand for this. She wanted to have some kind of phrase she would say before her "transformation", and some weird hazy cloud to envelope her before she was unveiled as the Moon Guardian, Aster Selene. Then, she would strike some flambuoyant pose.

This was harder than it sounded. Coming up with a phrase was extremely difficult, and conjuring a cloud was especially hard, because in Aster's human form, she could only control minor handfuls of water. Her lunar energy was especially depleted, and would require her to go into her fae form.

Eventually, Aster gave up and returned to practicing attacks. She shited into fae form and practiced using her staff, along with some flight patterns and some lunar beams. (She had to be especially careful with this one, because it could rip open potent plotholes.)

TTTTTTTTT

"Dinner, kyaa~"

Aster was making dinner. She wasn't the best chef in the world, but she wasn't horrifically tragic either. Tonight, it was yakitori.

"Beef, pork, chicken, shrimp, ginkgo nuts, fish..."

Aster grinned. "Let's eat!" she said in Japanese.

All of the agents dined in, except for Sumire, who wasn't present. Tyler said he would have some skewers delivered to Sumire's room (in some way or another). Aster dug into the beef, pork, and shrimp, but somewhat avoided the other ones; it wasn't a problem, however, because the other girls' voracious stomachs devoured whatever she didn't touch.

TTTTTTTTT

After dinner, Aster went back to her manga shelf and pulled off _Suzumiya Haruhi-chan no Yuutsu_. After reading for a bit, she stretched and got up.

"Kyaa~, I'm going to bed."

Aster went into the bathroom and changed. Soon, the sound of running water was heard, and the sound of Aster singing "God knows..." at the top of her lungs in the shower filled the Library.

Tash sighed. "She's not bad in pitch, but she really could work on her breathing."

TTTTTTTTT

After Aster had finished with her shower, she came out wrapped in a towel, another towel wrapped around her hair.

"Tashちん, have you seen my cell phone?"

Tash picked up Aster's phone. Aster took it and dashed back into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Then, she went into her bedroom.

Aster lived in a small flat in Tokyo in her own universe, and each room was separated for various, sometimes odd purposes. Since she only had one (somewhat large) room in the Library, she had taken a black marker and split the room into parts. This included one corner where the wall had been papered with anime posters, one part with a chocolate stash in case of emergencies (to be kept away from Chrys), one part with origami papers, one part with various cooking recipes, and one part containing items Aster claimed held mystical powers (although it was clearly obvious she had bought them from a flea market last Saturday due to the "MADE IN CHINA" on the back).

The time Tash had walked into her room, she had noticed a small part with wall-to-floor things written in pencil, in Japanese. When she had asked Aster for a translation, Aster had obliged, and it had turned out to be a series of rants, usually anger against certain characters from certain anime. That day, it had been on Yu-Gi-Oh...

...with a special angry section for Bakura.

Tash still shivered at the thought.

After changing into a blue nightgown, Aster got into her bed and fell asleep. She dreamed of the other Society members, the fae, her school, of Tash and Adrian, and of her friends back in Japan.

TTTTTTTTT

_A/N:_ _It's the Aster we all know and love…I can't make heads or tails of this…maybe someone else can?_


	6. Michael: Happy Birthday

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library  
(And Guests)

A/N_: Another good entry. Keep'em coming guys. I want one from everybody!_

TTTTTTTTT_  
_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Anti-Cliché and Mary Sue Elimination Society. I'm just a proud member, is all! Also, truth be told, I made this story back on Monday, when it was…well, you'll see when you read it._

TTTTTTTTT

The halls were silent. The lights were buzzing gently, and there was no one in sight. Truly, it was a dim day at the library, and there was no one around.

It was perfect.

"I think the coast is clear…" Michael mumbled to no one in particular, but when you were Michael, you were NEVER talking to yourself.

_Ah, but the coast is never clear now is it? _It cooed into his ear. _They shall find you…that lover of yours and your sisters know exactly what day it is…and they are planning…_

"God I hate you sometimes…" Michael growled to the dark parasite that dwelled inside of him, and he slinked his whole body out into the brightly lit florescent hallway. "I think we're in the clear…I just need to avoid everyone until midnight and I'll be good…"

And then his heart stopped.

His skin paled.

There were footsteps coming down the hallway. He didn't know who they belonged to, and he had a feeling, regardless of which it was, they KNEW what day it was.

"Michael!" Exclaimed the British voice that belonged to his elder adopted sister, Tash. She had a LARGE grin on her face.

And Michael had never run so fast in his life.

TTTTTTTT

"How do they always know where I am?" Michael asked as he slinked around one of the many, many, towering book cases that were simply lined with dozens of hundreds of books, and it would prove to be an ample hiding spot for now.

_You thought you were sure you were in the clear earlier, when you remained in your room, _The darkness taunted. _Eventually you're going to learn you have no hiding spot in this psychotic little mental institution you call a home. _He said, chortling.

"Because I should be good if you would just keep your mouth shut and let me think." Michael growled as he grabbed a book from the shelf of the society and began to read. It was Beowulf, one of his favorites. He began to read to himself, until a colorful little piece of plastic landed on the page of his book.

Blinking, he looked up to see a small shower of the colorful plastic pieces. Red, blue, green, pink, purple, white, dark blue and neon pink.

And through the shower of the plastic bits was a grinning, frizzy haired, red headed girl. Miri waved at her older brother.

When the plastic rain stopped, Michael was nowhere to be found.

TTTTTTTTT

"I despise confetti." Michael growled as he shook his head, another miniature shower of the confetti falling from his long hair as he took to walking through the hallways again, finding the flickering lights to be a somewhat better company. Besides, if anything were to come at him, at least he'd SEE them.

_As you humans say, third time IS the charm._

"Here's hoping it STAYS that way." Michael said as he looked at the hallway, down both ends, and plopped down against the wall. He pulled out his H.P. Lovecraft novel, and began to read.

_I thought you grabbed Beowulf?_ Asked the darkness after a confused silence.

"You think a lot of things," Michael grumbled as he tuned to a story, "besides; a plot hole like this is acceptable."

At that, the ground and the hallway beg an to shake violently, and Michael needed to find his ground.

"ASTER!!!"

"Kyaa…~"

_You're cruel, _The Darkness chuckled, _and I like that._

"I'm not here to please you," Michael said with a shrug, "But, admittedly, it IS fun to blame Aster for my numerous Fourth Wall breakings."

There was silence that followed in the hallway as his eyes began to drift from left to right, taking in the words of the difficult author H.P. Lovecraft. Something off to the side caught his eye. Looking up, he saw the lights beginning to flicker on and off on either side of the hallway.

Eventually, Darkness surrounded the Gary Stu Gutter.

"Well, THAT'S not ominous."

_Ahhh…now this is MY kind of relaxation time…_The Darkness hisses, as the pair of snake heads slithered out of his back and around him, reveling in the darkness that had been mysteriously granted to him.

All Michael could hear as of now was his own breathing. Inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale…inhale…exhale.

There was a pair of soft footsteps off to the side of him. He held his breath, as his eyes hadn't yet adjusted to the darkness. Something was there with him. A soft, little giggle filled the air, and Michael felt his heart skip a beat.

A brief flash of light revealed someone was staring at him directly in the face. RIGHT IN FRONT OF HIM.

For the second time that day, Michael darted down the hallway. This time, however, he did a very unprofessional scream.

The darkness cleared a moment later, and Claire was standing there, a cute little party hat on her head and a noise making in her mouth. With a cute grin, she blew the noise maker and gave her boyfriend chase.

"No where is safe," Michael mumbled under his breath as he walked into the kitchen, his eyes darting back and forth in a very paranoid sort of way, "They're all out to get me…they won't stop…never truly alone…trust nothing…believe no one…"

_There's that decadent aroma again…_The Darkness said to its host, inhaling somewhat deeply. It made Michael inhale too, and smack his lips.

"Mm, yeah, it does smell good." He agreed with the parasite. "What IS that smell?"

Walking over to the oven, he opened it slowly…

And shut it in horror. "Oh god," he gulped. "I'm too late…" he looked around in panic. "They're almost done…I need to get out of here…"

He was about to leave the room, ever so quietly…

"HERE HE IS!"

"H-He's leaving t-the k-kitchen!"

"Dammit!" he screamed in frustration and raced out the room.

TTTTTTTTT

"Just when you think you know someone,' Michael groaned, "They all go against you…behind your back…start snitching on you…no one is good!"

_You realize Adrian is right behind you_.

Michael obviously didn't hear, as he was still walking down the hallway, biting on his fingernails. "Darkness is bad…light is bad…everything back…"

_I say, the Librarian is right behind you…_

Once more he didn't hear him. He continued to walk…

And a lasso looped him and he was jerked backwards Crying out in surprise, Michael fell to the ground, and felt his hands and knees tied up promptly.

"What the hell!?" Michael exclaimed, struggling. "Did you know about this?!" he hissed to the darkness.

_Yes…_

"You could have warned me!"

…_Sigh…_

"There," Adrian said to his girlfriend as she, Miri and Claire walked up behind the librarian, "that's one Gary Sue Gutter, all tied up nice and pretty, now pay up."

Tash only rolled her eyes and giggled. Reaching over, she gently grabbed his ear and began to rub it and tweak it. Adrian was instant putty, and he nuzzled against her petting hand in an affectionate way.

"Ahhh…" he purred against her rubbing hand, his tail twitching a little bit. "That's the STUFF…"

"Ahhh, you're so easy to please," Tash giggled a bit as she kissed the librarian's cheek softly, and continued to rub at his ears. Claire and Miri grabbed Michael's legs, easy, mind you, and began to drag him off into a nearby room.

"Adrian!" Michael snapped, struggling. "Help me! Please!?"

The Librarian was too busy being petted to really care, leaning against his other half with pleased sigh "…huh…?"

"Now, hush…" Claire told her boyfriend as they hauled him through the door. "We're just going to celebrate…"

"No! No! I won't let you! No! Noooooooo!!"

TTTTTTTT

…_With all the fuss you were giving, I thought they were going to sacrifice you to some ludicrous sugar god or an offering for more manga…_

"With this group, honestly?" Michael asked as he struggled to remove himself from the chair he found himself tied too. "Wouldn't put it past them."

_Why do you hate this day? I was under the impression this was one of the most highly anticipated days of a humans life…_

"It is, don't get me wrong," he said softly. "And I love these guys for doing it but…sometimes being the center of attention is a bit embarrassing…"

_You humans are so stupid….well, I'll leave you be to your blushing…you have some embarrassment to do with your family…_

Michael was left alone in silence, but not for long. Soon, Claire plopped down in his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing it, grinning. Miri put a cake in front of Michael, and Tash lit the candles.

And the voice of the Society began to sing.

"_Happy Birthday to You….Happy Birthday to you…_"

_Thank god these only come once a year…_Michael thought to himself, finally smiling as he leaned against Claire. Wasn't so bad, he guessed…

At least until him, Tash or Miri attacked the cake, accusing it of being a lie and running off, laughing manically. THEN it was just a normal day.

TTTTTTTTT

…_Yeah, so, happy Belated Birthday to me, I guess, since it was back on Monday and what with going to England kept me from writing this on time. So here it is. Thanks guys, Rock on._

TTTTTTTTT

_A/N: __That was pretty awesome…Happy Birthday, Michael and may you have many more. Live well, love well, age well and if you can, don't leave until you're old and gray and when you do, go with a smile on your face._

_And as a side-note, no one but Tash may pet the ears. She will fry anyone who tries without her permission._


	7. Tash: Night of the NeverEnding Beep

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library  
(And Guests)

A/N: _Out of all the ones so far, this is probably my favorite and I'm sure you all know why…anyway, enjoy and review!_

TTTTTTTT

**A/N: **Look. I'm alive. Uni did not kill me...it had a damn good try, but it didn't kill me.

I dunno why I'm so happy. I still feel pretty down.

Either way, I hope people at least get a giggle out of this...

OOO

Tash: Night of the Never-Ending Beep

Adrian's kitty ears twitched as they registered the sounds of footsteps approaching the reading room. He slid a bookmark into his book to mark his place and looked up as the Society's de-facto leader appeared in the doorway. She looked rather peculiar, wrapped up in a blanket with only her head and feet showing as she shuffled over the threshold.

"Are you alright, Tash?" Adrian asked, setting his book to one side. He was quite alarmed to see her eyes were red, and she was several shades paler than usual.

"I could use a hug," came the mumbled response, and she was immediately cuddled by the Librarian. "Thank you...don't suppose you've got any water?"

He sighed and shook his head. "In the kitchen. Sit down, don't go anywhere."

He kissed her gently on the forehead and left at a fast walk.

OOO

"Beeeeep..."

...

"Beeeeep..."

"...Michael, are you still awake?"

"Unfortunately. Why are you still up?"

Claire sat up and flicked the light on. "The microwave is beeping again. Can't you hear it?"

Squinting in the sudden light, Michael scowled. "I can't hear anything, that's my problem. My freeloader has started singing..."

He winced as his rudeness earned him a particularly loud chorus of "I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts". For the millionth time, Michael wondered if brain damage would be enough to shut the Darkness up permanently. Claire's face fell and she hugged her boyfriend.

"Is that why you haven't fixed the microwave?" she asked. Michael shook his head, knowing that during the weekly briefing, Tash had delegated the task of repairing the kitchen appliance to him.

"I traded it to Adrian in exchange for taking one of his monitor shifts," he explained. "He said he had paperwork to catch up with, but I think he wanted to spend time with Tash."

Claire giggled, before checking the clock. It was four am, British time, but she knew she wouldn't be sleeping now.

"I could murder a cup of tea," she declared, searching the floor for her slippers.

"Yeah, me too," Michael admitted, throwing back the covers and picking his dressing gown off the floor where he had last thrown it. He grinned as he realised what he had just agreed to. "You're turning me British."

Claire smirked. "Then I'm doing my job," she declared.

_Why so British? _The Darkness asked in a hiss.

_Quiet you_ Michael replied, and immediately, the voice picked up again.

_Big ones. Small ones. Some as big as your head..._

OOO

Marcus slipped quietly down the corridor of the Library, heading for one of the empty reading rooms. As soon as he was sure no one was around to watch, he darted inside and locked the door. Zapping a tiny portal into existence, he fingered the Sheep Talisman.

"Here I go again," he muttered, before his body went entirely limp and he slumped against the sofa, his astral form slipping through the coin sized portal and into the Storm Hawks fandom.

OOO

Aster hummed as she strolled into the kitchen, completely ignoring the continuously beeping microwave. She was not surprised to see Adrian there – after all, the Librarian rarely slept. Though he must have been in a hurry to do whatever it was he was doing, as he'd abandoned his trenchcoat in the rush.

"Why so late?" she asked, immediately raiding the cupboards for something sweet. Adrian looked up from the sink, where he was filling a glass with water.

"Things to do," the Librarian replied vaguely. The blue haired agent shrugged and pouted as she realised the cupboards were badly stocked.

"There's no sugar," she complained.

"What do you expect me to do about it?" Adrian asked, distractedly.

"Tell me where I can get some?" Aster suggested.

"Aster, it's ten in the evening," Adrian retorted. "I'm not getting you sweets at this time of night."

"But I'm on Japanese time," the fae protested. "It's just after lunch in my mind."

Adrian groaned. While the Library ran on its own time schedule, it didn't mean that the Society Agents biological clocks ran parallel. This was not normally a problem except when it came to scheduling jobs for the week, as the British agents were always up before the American agents. It also meant he had to run the nightshift alone, as he was the only leader who wasn't on British time.

"Why is the microwave beeping?" Aster asked, sitting beside the aforementioned appliance, as Adrian finished with the water.

"It's broken," he said briefly, and exiting the room at a hasty pace.

"...bye then," Aster muttered, pulling open the drawer of cutlery and spying a box underneath the rack. She tugged it out and opened it, completely ignoring the sign on the front that said "for British Agents only". With a cheer of success, she tipped the blocks of chocolate out onto her lap and began to eat.

OOO

It took fifteen minutes of patient coaxing and a dose of beta blockers to get Tash to calm down and tell the Librarian about her nightmare and subsequent panic attack. Adrian had returned to find her curled up on one end of the sofa, the blanket wrapped around her as tightly as it would go, and humming the theme song from Elfen Lied under her breath in an attempt to calm down. Though the panic attack had ended now, she was still shaking.

"Feel better?" Adrian asked, watching her finish the last of the water and lean against him.

"Yeah...thanks Adrian," she muttered, reaching up to pet his ears. The Librarian immediately snuggled against her chest, a deep purr echoing from his throat. Tash giggled, already feeling better.

"You take good care of me," she whispered, kissing his head and rubbing the back of his neck. The purring increased, and a fluffy tail found its way around her thigh, causing Adrian's cheeks to flame.

"Stupid tail," he muttered. Tash burst out laughing. She knew he had no fine control over that particular limb's actions, a fact which irritated and embarrassed him greatly. She went back to stroking his ears in reassurance.

"_He's so adorable,_" she thought. "_What did I do to deserve him?_"

"Erm...not interrupting are we?" came a giggle from the doorway. Tash looked up and grinned at the sight of Michael and Claire, both looking very amused by the purring Librarian in her lap.

"Not at all," Tash assured them, keeping up the treatment of Adrian's ears. "Did you know that kitty purrs are soothing to humans?"

"I hate you..." Adrian muttered, his cheeks turning red again. Relaxed as he was, he lacked the willpower to move and regain any of his dignity.

"Oh how the mighty have fallen," Michael snickered.

"Oh shut up..." Adrian complained, and he received a poke in the side for his rudeness. Claire pulled out her mobile phone and began taking pictures, wincing slightly as a headache made itself known.

"You alright Clairey?" Tash asked, in concern.

"Just a headache from the microwave," Claire waved it off. "The stupid thing is beeping again."

Tash's ear rubbing ceased, and Adrian mewled in displeasure.

"Michael, I thought you said you'd fix the microwave?"

"I say a lot of things," Michael shrugged, rubbing his temples, as his freeloader started to sing again (_On the good ship, lollipop, it's a sweet trip to the candy shop..._). "I seem to recall saying I'd still respect you after Volt gave you that ridiculous haircut."

Tash rolled her eyes. "Very funny little brother."

"Anyway, the kitten in your lap said he'd do it," Michael brushed off. Adrian glared at the nicknaming.

"In that case, why haven't you done it?" Tash asked him.

"I traded the job to Blake," Adrian said. "In exchange for doing a stack of his paperwork."

"...by _doing_, you mean-" Tash began.

"-I shoved it in Aster's room and left it to breed," Adrian nodded. Tash shook her head before getting to her feet.

"I'm getting some food."

"I'll come too," Claire declared. "You want anything baby?"

"A cup of tea and a working flashlight?" Michael muttered, causing the Darkness to hiss angrily.

"Your host causing problems?" Adrian asked, watching Michael nod in confirmation. "Fancy a duel to take your mind off it?

"Yeah why not?" Michael shrugged, sitting down and retrieving one of his decks from his pocket. "Best two of three?"

Claire gave her boyfriend a wry look, before turning to Tash. "Do you think they love dueling more than us?"

"I think we shouldn't ask," Tash nodded, before announcing. "I play winner!"

OOO

Blake stifled a yawn as he headed down the corridor and towards the reading rooms that were frequented by the Society. He was glad to be free of the monitor room – while watching the activity in his favourite fandoms was fun for the first hour of his shift, after six hours it started to get boring. And there were only so many rounds of Duel Monsters or Pokemon he could squeeze out of his DS.

A light was shining through the crack between the door and the floor of one of the offices, which Blake knew to be Hati's. Wondering what she was doing awake at this time of night, the blonde agent knocked on the door sharply.

"Harriet?"

What sounded like a low growling noise, emitted from the office. Growing slightly alarmed now, Blake pushed the door open a crack – and was immediately blasted backwards off his feet by the primal roar of anger that ripped through the quiet of the library.

OOO

In the reading room, Michael and Adrian were halfway through their first duel, when the roar blasted its way through the peace and obligatory duelist trash talking. The cards were blown clean off the table, and several books were dislodged from the shelves, one of them landing on Adrian's tail, causing him to yowl in pain.

"What the bloody hell was that?!" Michael demanded. Adrian soothed his tail, looking just as confused.

"Either Valerie managed to sneak a dragon into the library," he said. "Or someone is depriving Tash of sugar."

Both young men exchanged looks.

"It's Tash," they summarized simultaneously, before gathering up their decks and setting the table again.

OOO

Tash and Claire peeked cautiously around the wall of the corridor, their hair windswept from the sudden blast that had echoed throughout the building. On the floor of the corridor sat Blake, looking completely dishevelled and incredibly frightened by what he had just lived through. Neither girl had seen him look this bad since the time Michael had attacked him in a duel with Horus the Black Flame Dragon LV8 and the hologram had randomly chewed him up and spat him back out again.

"Bloody hell," Tash summed up simply. Blake's cheeks turned pink as he realised he had an audience.

"I think there's a wild beast in Harriet's room!" he told them.

"No, Hati _is _the wild beast," Tash corrected kindly. When the agent on the floor continued to look confused, Tash explained. "She's PMSing."

Blake's eyes widened in comprehension, and Claire made a sympathetic noise.

"Poor baby. Should we bring her some tea?"

"Yeah, some chocolate would be a good idea too," Tash agreed. "You want tea Blake?"

"A Dr Pepper would be better for my nerves right now," the American admitted, getting to his feet.

"Honestly, what is it with Americans and their sugar filled drinks?" Tash asked, rolling her eyes.

"Oh like you can talk, Miss I-drink-hot-chocolate-on-a-summers-day," Blake muttered.

Tash had no time for a reasonable reply to that, as the door to the kitchen burst open, and Aster came leaping into view, a crazy grin on her face. The two agents and leader backed away in fear – rightly so.

"WEEEEEEEEEE!" Aster bounced down the corridor, and seized Claire in a bone-crushing hug. For such a small girl she had one hell of a grip when sugar high –which it was apparent she was, given the bar of chocolate she was still clutching. Claire recognised it and plucked it from her grasp, causing the fae to release her immediately.

"Mine!" she protested, but Claire had already thrown it to Tash, who held it high in the air. At five foot ten, and with an impressive arm span to boot, there was no way Aster would be able to reach. Claire suddenly looked mutinous.

"Is that my good Galaxy?!" she demanded. Tash checked it and gasped.

"Aster, have you been in the box of British chocolate?!" she asked. Aster's only response was to attempt to climb up the body of her superior to reach the chocolate, all the while chanting "Its mine! Its mine!".

"We have a box of British chocolate?" Blake asked curiously.

"Yes," Claire nodded. "Because British chocolate has a higher sugar content than American chocolate, we thought we should stash it away so no one would get hyper off it."

"Which obviously she has," Tash muttered, prising Aster off her, one limb at a time. "I'm going to put her to bed. Blake would you give me a hand with her door?"

"Sure thing boss," Blake nodded. Claire sighed and took the Galaxy off Tash, once she was sure that Aster would not be escaping from her grasp any time soon.

"I'll keep this for Hati, and go put the tea on," she offered, hurrying off to the kitchen and dreading the kind of mess Aster might have made.

"C'mon Aster. Walkies," Tash urged in a cheery voice. Blake snickered and unlocked the correct office door. Tash was unsurprised to see that the floor was blanketed with paperwork, in the process of breeding quite dramatically.

"At least she's not drunk," Blake consoled, as Tash released the hyperactive girl and they both slammed the door shut before she could escape. "Then we'd have to deal with her hungover."

Tash shuddered. "Oh you haven't seen Hati drunk. Its really scary. I still haven't forgotten the time she put the carton of smoothie in the cutlery drawer..."

OOO

Now Claire was normally a sweet girl, but after five minutes of standing in the kitchen with the source of her headache and insomnia, she was just about ready to put a fork through the infernal device – never mind that it would probably electrocute her in the process. With the kettle boiling and the five mugs all set, save for the hot water, she was left with nothing to do but glare at the microwave and wish she had some pinecones on hand to throw at it – they might not do any damage, but at least she would feel better.

"Blake!" she snapped, as soon as the two entered the kitchen. "Adrian said he traded you the job of fixing the microwave."

"Oh yeah," Blake said, looking at the beeping appliance as though he had only just realised it was there. "I asked Marcus if he'd do it...I don't know anything about mechanics!" he added in his defence, as Claire's gaze hardened.

"I am tetchy!" she announced. "It is quarter past four in the morning..."

"No its not," Blake objected. "Its ten fifteen at night."

Tash trod on his foot to indicate that this was not the time to argue with her. Claire twitched.

"Whatever," she said sharply. "It is late. I'm tired. And I want this microwave fixed!"

"...I'll go find Marcus," Blake squeaked very quickly, before bolting out of the room, eager to be away from the scary look on Claire's face. The aforementioned girl shook her head and shot the microwave another glare.

"Don't worry hon," Tash soothed. "As soon as its fixed you can go to bed."

"And if it doesn't get fixed?" Claire asked in a voice of dread.

"Then we shove it in the Room of Things Man Was Not Meant to Know," Tash said firmly. "I'm sure I can distract Adrian long enough to swipe the keys."

Claire giggled. "Who knew kitty ears could be useful for subduing him?"

"And if all else fails, catnip fixes everything," Tash nodded wisely, as Blake re-entered the room.

"Umm...Marcus is sleeping in one of the reading rooms. I've tried, but I can't wake him up."

"Bollocks," Tash muttered, as Claire's mutinous look returned suddenly. "Have you tried tempting him with a hot naked anime character?"

"I wouldn't do that," Claire said thoughtfully. "Given what he's been through with Junko lately it would probably just bum him out..."

Tash sighed, sensing a finger of accusation being pointed. "I know it was harsh," she said. "But what else could I do? If I had let him continue, then I would have to extend the same allowance to everyone, and we'd have so many continuity issues in the fandoms..."

"We know Tash," Blake sighed. "We don't need to hear you defend yourself every time we bring it up."

"Just saying it's sad," Claire nodded, before looking towards the door. "I suppose we should go put him to bed."

"Yeah," Tash sighed. "Then we'd better go deal with the wild PMSing beast."

"I hope Harriet hasn't left her room and eaten Michael and Adrian," Blake muttered, snagging a can of Dr Pepper from the fridge.

"No, that's more my style when I'm moody," Tash corrected.

OOO

Said agents had thankfully not been eaten by their leader. Instead they were on their third duel of the match. Michael had lost the first round due to a bad hand, and dead draws. It didn't help also that the Darkness had started singing again ("_I know a song that gets on your nerves_"). Adrian however had lost the second round, after a serious miscalculation had left him defenceless and at Michael's very limited mercy.

Adrian was just ending his turn, when Claire reappeared with the drinks. Michael's face lit up immediately at the sight of his girlfriend, whereas Adrian's lit up at the sight of the tea.

"What kept you?" Michael asked. Claire waved a hand.

"Hati, Blake, Aster, Marcus...long story," she said, taking her own mug and sitting down. "Who's winning?"

"So far we're at a stalemate," Michael admitted. Claire smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"You'll break it," she told him confidently. Michael grinned.

"Yeah, I will," he nodded. Adrian looked right and left, as though expecting his own girlfriend to appear and cheer him on. Michael noticed his distraction and guessed why.

"Where's Aneki?" he asked.

"She's feeding Hati," Claire explained, as right on cue, another roar ripped through the building with ear shattering force, sending the cards scattering again.

OOO

"Blake!" Tash yelled, over the roar, holding onto the door for dear life. "You throw like a girl!"

She seized the chocolate, which had barely made it over the threshold of the door, and chucked it as hard as she could into the apparent lion's den. Blake couldn't help but smirk at her attempt.

"Looks like I'm not the only one!" he called back.

"I _am _a girl!" Tash shrieked. "I have an excuse!"

She need not have shouted the last line, for the roaring suddenly subsided, and the chocolate was pounced upon by a vicious and downright feral looking Harriet, who was doing a very eerie impression of Gollum from Lord of the Rings.

"Here Hati..." Tash cooed, stepping just over threshold. Harriet growled at her, but kept munching through the chocolate. Blake took a cautious step after his leader, only to be repelled by Harriet, snarling at him and leaping for his throat. Tash swiftly intercepted her with a mug of tea, which had miraculously remained in the mug throughout all the drama (well, it was British).

"My precioussss..." Hati hissed, crouching over the cup, possessively. Tash backed away and gently shut the door behind her, leaving her cranky friend to her tea.

"...that," Blake said slowly, his face pale. "Was one of the most surreal and horrifying experiences of my life."

Tash shook her head. "And you all through my PMS was bad..."

OOO

"Beeeeeeeeeeep..."

...

"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeep..."

"...Claire are you still awake?"

"Of course," the younger Brit grumbled. "Its getting louder."

"Yeah, I can hear it now too," Tash admitted, sitting up a little on the sofa. It was now five thirty in the morning, British time, and all four Society members had curled up on various sofas (Blake had gone to bed quite some time ago, saying he needed to recover from the surreal experience of dealing with Hati). Adrian was curled up next to Tash, his cat ears twitching as he slept. Sensing her movement, his arms tightened around her waist so she couldn't go any further, and he gave a meow of displeasure. Tash blushed, and Claire couldn't help but giggle.

"Possessive isn't he?" she said, causing Tash to blush worse. Next to Claire, Michael shifted slightly so that he was lying more comfortably against the arm of the sofa. Claire grinned and stroked his hair.

"They're adorable aren't they?" Tash giggled. Claire nodded, before a mischievous look appeared in her eye, and she produced a black marker out of nowhere, and scrawled "Ass" on her boyfriend's forehead in large capital letters. Tash doubled over in silent laughter.

"Do you ever do that thing where you try and wake them up with a feather?" she asked. Claire shook her head.

"Nah, I poke him until he squeaks," she admitted, throwing the marker to Tash. Giggling madly, Tash quickly drew kitty whiskers on her boyfriend's cheeks, and marked a little black circle on his nose. Claire started laughing, before a frown suddenly appeared on her face.

"Hey...do you hear that?"

Tash listened, and grinned. "The microwave isn't beeping!" she whispered in glee.

"Shh!" Claire waved her silent. "Let's check..."

There was silence for a very long time...before a sharp crack filled the air and the beeping continued – this time, continuously. Tash buried her face into a cushion in despair, and Claire growled.

"That is it!" she yelled, causing Adrian to stir slightly.

"Hmm...what's the noise?" he asked.

"The microwave," Tash groaned. The Librarian's eyes adjusted to the dim light, and immediately recoiled at the sight of Claire, who was looking thoroughly fed up and as though she would love nothing more than to beat people around the head with the offending microwave. Briefly he wondered whether all British girls were this formidable...and then he remembered how Tash could behave when she was moody.

"Bloody hell..." Michael muttered. "Did it get louder?"

Claire gave him a look. "Fix. It. NOW!" she demanded.

"We don't know how," Michael moaned, his eyes begging for his girlfriend's forgiveness. Claire softened a little at the pleading look. She couldn't be too mad when he gave her those eyes...and the fact he had "Ass" written on his forehead and had not noticed was just funny.

"Well go blow it up...or throw it in a room or something," Tash suggested, trying to smother her face in the cushion. Adrian took it before she could harm herself, and got off the sofa.

"Alright...come on Michael, it won't take long."

Stretching and sighing, Michael pulled himself off the sofa and followed him out of the door, grimacing as the singing in his head began again spitefully ("_There were ten in the bed, and the little one said, roll over, roll over..._"_)_. Tash watched them both go, grinning as Adrian's tail swished with his movements.

"I will never regret that spell," she declared, flopping back onto the sofa. Claire too curled back up and put her fingers in her ears.

"How long before Michael finds out about the marker?" Tash asked, pulling her blanket over her shoulders.

"I dunno..." Claire shrugged. "If it's still there in the morning at least I'll get a laugh out of it."

OOO

"...okay, I know why I'm laughing at you..." Michael spluttered to the semi-hysterical Librarian. "Why are _you_ laughing at _me_?"

They had barely made it down two corridors, when both of them had suddenly taken a good long look at each other's faces and had doubled over laughing.

"Claire got you with the marker," Adrian informed him. Michael's face paled.

"Umm...Tash got you too," he informed him. The humour immediately vanished from the Librarian's face, and both of them hurried into the kitchen and examined themselves in the nearest shiny surface (the refrigerator door).

"Hmm...I think yours is worse than mine," Michael grinned. Adrian's ears twitched.

"Thanks. Thanks a lot. When I get hold of Tash..."

"You don't wanna get hold of her," Michael advised. "My sister can be evil when she wishes." He took one side of the beeping device (Claire had unplugged it earlier, and yet for some reason, this had not helped matters) and lifted it. "Come on, let's go shove this in the basement with the Sues or something."

"This'll drive them crazy," Adrian pointed out, taking the other side and helping him over to the door.

"I am past the point of caring," Michael said frankly. "You got the keys?"

Of course what neither of them had banked on until they entered the basement, was that the Sues would be awake...and find their marked faces hilarious. Five minutes of arguing with their prisoners and storing the microwave, and both agents were thoroughly ticked off as they stomped back towards the reading room.

_So they all rolled over and one fell out..._

"Be quiet!" Michael yelled aloud, his temper snapping. Adrian jumped.

"What did I do?" he asked. Michael groaned.

"Not you. The Darkness is singing again!"

_Splat on the floor with his guts hanging out..._

"One second," the Librarian said, hurrying into the kitchen. He returned a minute later with a flashlight. The Darkness immediately hissed and spat at its host.

_You wouldn't dare!_

Michael's only response was to close his eyes and flash the light into his face several times. The dark creature shrieked before falling silent.

"Thank you," the host grinned. Adrian shrugged.

"No problem at all."

They found Tash and Claire sleeping on their respective sofas.

"About time they slept..." Michael said, finding it very hard to be annoyed at Claire any longer. He tucked the flashlight into his pocket and perched on the arm beside his girlfriend. Adrian sat on the end of the sofa occupied by the Society leader.

"...they're great girls aren't they?" he admitted.

"Yeah," Michael nodded. He glanced around Claire, and found the black marker from earlier, pocketing it with a grin.

"What are you planning with that?" Adrian asked, curiously. Michael smirked.

"You'll see...or you will in the morning if she doesn't notice..."

There was silence in the room for five seconds, before...

"...you're not asleep are you Tash?" Adrian asked suddenly.

"No," came the immediate response from the de-facto leader.

"Brilliant," Michael said, stooping to pick his girlfriend up. "I'm going to bed before the Darkness starts singing , Ten in the Bed again..."

Tash sat up slowly and waved to her brother as he carried his girlfriend off. The Librarian was giving her a stern look, and she blinked innocently.

"What?"

"Don't you 'what' me," Adrian said firmly, pointing to his face. "What's the idea?"

Tash tilted her head to one side and got up from the sofa. "I thought you'd look good in whiskers."

She stretched and walked over to her boyfriend, leaning sleepily on him. "Now hold still so I can use you as my pillow… "

"Hey!" He protested, but couldn't stop himself from toppling over onto the couch as she leaned into him more. Sighing, he just gave up resisting and cuddled her. "I can't win, can't I…?"

"Nope…" The British girl smirked sleepily and pulled her blanket over them, nestling against his chest and sighing softly as she drifted off to dreamland…

OOO

Michael was about to flick off the light, before he remembered the marker pen in his dressing gown pocket. Tugging it out, he leaned over the sleeping Claire, and hastily scribbled on her forehead. When he was done, he sat back and observed his masterpiece. The word "Brat" was now clearly visible in black ink.

Grinning, he recapped the pen, before curling up beside her, and nodding off, the Darkness seething quietly in the corner of his mind.

OOO

Early the next morning, Miriku was the first person to be seen walking the corridors. She was one of the few people who never did the night shifts, as she had too many responsibilities in the real world to station herself permanently at the Library.

Miriku was a very early riser, and thus it was a surprise to find Harriet wandering the corridor as she headed for the monitor room. The founder looked incredibly perky and was humming under her breath, a silly sparkle in her eyes.

"Umm...Hati?" Miriku asked in concern. Up close she noticed the leader was dangling an empty mug loosely in her left hand. As soon as Miriku got near to her, she looked up and beamed widely.

"Hello Miri! Lovely day isn't it?"

And she skipped off in the direction of the kitchen, leaving Miriku to blink several times.

"Lalalalalaaa..."

"...I don't wanna know..." the small American decided finally, turning on her heel and heading off to the monitor room, humming "Sunday Clothes" under her breath.

OOO

May Stardust fall in your dreams!

TTTTTTTT

A/N: _Isn't that cool or what? Way to go, Tash!....*pokes screen* Hey, y'alls, don't be adverse to use Leadershipping more often. Makes for some good humor and feel-good moments!_

_Later Dayz, y'all!_


	8. Ben: Sentient Sticks and Stringed Instru

Insert These Are Our Moments Here

By Master of the Library

And Guests

A/N: _Couple of things I need to mention. First, to any Society members who have not submitted their entries, please send your entry as part of the e-mail itself. My computer has trouble opening attachments. Second, to all those who converse me on IM and the like, due to reasons outside of my control, i.e. reality and job, etc, my time online is severely limited. I will be on when I can, but it will be sporadically and at odd hours. Also, please make sure you don't appear 'offline' to others, as I can't send you messages otherwise._

_Now that's all out of the way, read and enjoy._

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**Sentient Sticks and Stringed Instruments**

**I've been waiting to contribute to this for a while yet, but I couldn't think of an idea. Now that I have one, I'd better go pick up some more Advil! (You'll see what I mean...)**

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Ben's mouth fell open, his eyes wide in surprise and pain. He slumped to the floor in the Library's music room.

"W-what?" He asked Shirley softly.

The Cliché Stick bit her lip. "I'm sorry Ben." She said quietly.

"All this time, you've been..." Ben stared blankly at his muse.

"Yes, but it doesn't change anything!" Shirley said urgently, clapping one clawed hand onto Ben's shoulder.

"Of course it changes things!" Ben shouted jumping to his feet. "Don't you get it, Shirley? It changes everything!"

"It means nothing!" Shirley insisted.

"It means everything!" Ben roared.

"We spent all this time together and all this time you've been lying to me!"

"I wasn't lying!" Shirley replied indignantly.

"You never told me the truth, that's close enough!" Ben glared at his muse.

"Oh, get over it!" Shirley snapped.

"How can you honestly believe 3 Inches of Blood's Justin Hagberg is a better guitarist than DragonForce's Herman Li?" Ben demanded.

"Gimme a break!" Shirley scoffed. "All Herman Li has to do is play 5 million notes a second, of course he's gonna get some of them right! Justin Hagberg actually has to work on sounding good!"

"Yeah, operative words being 'work on'" Ben shot back.

"Are you kidding me?" Shirley half shrieked. "Have you even _heard Deadly Sinners_?"

"Have you even heard _Heroes of our Time_?" Ben asked.

"At least my favorite band isn't so obsessed with juvenile fantasy that it bases all it's songs off it!" Shirley countered.

Ben's eyebrows shot up. "You want me to go get Mr. Chippy?" He threatened.

Shirley cocked her head to one side "Oh, you mean the chainsaw I had Seymour take in for maintenance this morning?"

Ben paled. "Maintenance?"

Shirley nodded slowly.

"This is going to hurt, isn't it?" Ben asked weakly.

Shirley smiled, bearing her fangs. "In ways you've never imagined." She leapt at him, claws outstretched.

TTTTTTTT

Michael looked up from the duel he and Adrian were half-way through. "You hear someone screaming?" He asked.

Adrian shrugged. "Ignore it, some bishie probably just died in one of Aster's manga."

Michael nodded. "Trap Card." He said, flipping a card over.

Adrian swore.

TTTTTTTTTT

**And there you have it! I know it's short, but hey, it results in great physical pain for yours truly! Isn't that what it's all about?**

**Shirley: It's **_**supposed**_** about making a worthwhile contribution to the expanded interactions between various members of the Society and their expanded world, numbskull.**

**Same thing...**

**Seymour's another character from mine and Shirley's little world. I'll be introducing him eventually. And believe me, when I do, you'll wish I hadn't...XD**

**And in case anyone's wondering, yes 3 Inches of Blood and DragonForce are both metal bands. *throws the rock horns***

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_A/N__: Another successful entry…also, be sure to check the forum for some stuff I've put up that might make things a little easier. Otherwise, keep 'em coming, guys!_


	9. Valerie: Line the Pieces Up

Insert These Are Our Moments Here

By Master of the Library

(And Guests)

A/N: _I think this one a lot…makes me want to do a second a entry….I know the unspoken rule is one per agent, but would any one object if I did a second one…?_

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Valerie: Line the Pieces Up

AN: Hello everyone! Welcome to my hectic, confusing, depressing, exhilatering, lonely, annoying, fun-filled, weird, and strangely peaceful world. XD All credit to characters other than my own goes to their respective owners.

_-o-o-o-o-o-_

_Showtunes_, she muttered to herself. _Why is it always showtunes?_

Valerie nearly always had some form of music running through the back of her mind, though recently songs from Broadway musicals she'd seen proved most prevalent. Of course, this could be a remnant of her early and late childhood, when she burried herself in stories and books to escape the problems of her own life. Showtunes - basically songs _about_ stories - seemed to accomplish the same thing. What Valerie was attempting to escape, however, wasn't going to be ignored without a fight.

"Come on," Terrie's plainative was accompanied by a light poke, "talk. I want details! I didn't think you went for blondes..."

Valerie sighed heavily. Terrie had cornered her in a remote corner of the Library's kitchen, where they were unlikely to be disturbed, after catching her looking wistfully after a young man about their age. "It's a _crush_, Terrie," Valerie said irratibly, "nothing more. It'll pass. And it's not like it would've worked out anyway, even if he felt the same."

"Well that's no excuse! Zanney and I make it work out, and we live on opposite sides of a continent!"

"That's what you said about Sam when you were dating him," Valerie felt compelled to point out, "And besides, for me it's moot point. It's unrequited."

"How do you know that?" Terrie asked impishly.

Valerie was sorely tempted to roll her eyes. "Trust me. I _know_."

Terrie blinked, then remembered: Valerie was an empath, someone able to sense the emotions of others. If anyone could tell what this guy was feeling, it would be her.

Valerie, for her part, was a little bit depressed by this fact. It wasn't often that a male really caught her eye, but rarely did those young men look back at her. She knew why too: she was ordinary. Straight brown hair that fell to her waist, small hazel eyes that pretty much looked like plain brown unless you looked closely, a plump frame too fat to be called attractive but not fat enough to be called ugly... not to mention her shyness. Empathy made it difficult for her to be in crowds (for obvious reasons), but even when well-shielded, talking to people she wasn't very good friends with was nearly impossible for the girl. Put it all together, and she was invisible.

_'You can look right through me, walk right by me, and never know I'm there...'_

Terrie thought for a moment, then said, "Well what about that guy from college? From what you've told me, he worships the ground you walk on!"

This time Valerie did roll her eyes. "Ter, he's eleven years older than me! If his constant flattery wasn't such a much-needed boost for my battered ego, I think I might file a restraining order!"

The shorter brunette giggled a bit. "Well it's good to know you won't settle, at least. Because if anyone deserves the man of her dreams, it's you."

Valerie didn't respond. _Here's hoping..._ she thought.

TTTTTT

"Okay, Danielle," the team leader said softly, so as not to disturb her redheaded friend's concentration, "Guide it through the maze."

She placed a small white mouse at the beginning of a relatively simple maze, and Danielle's eyes seemed to glaze over as she focused on the small creature's aura. To anyone else, this would look like a classic lab experiment, but the difference here was that bait for the mouse was placed at the maze's dead ends, not the exit. Danielle was attempting to force the mouse to move _away_ from the food, toward the end of the maze.

It put a tiny pink nose in the air and sniffed for a moment, then immediately turned down the leftmost path, toward the first set of bait. It took a few steps in that direction, then froze, looking distinctly confused. Valerie felt, rather than saw, it's aura flare up momentarily (she had very little talent for seeing auras unless she knew exactly what to look for, which rather defeated the purpose), then pulse rhythmicly in the direction of the maze's exit. Slowly, as if unsure why it was doing this, the mouse turned in that direction...

...and immediately bolted for the second set of bait on the right. Danielle struggled with it for a moment more, but once it started eating the food pellets, it was a hopeless cause. She sighed.

"Well that was a complete _failure_," she said miserably.

"Hey, I wouldn't call it that," Valerie reassured her. "You've never done anything bigger than a spider before, let alone against the animal's food instinct. That was a fantastic first try."

The redhead tried not to show it, but Valerie could tell she was preening under the praise.

"I _am_ getting better at this, aren't I?" Then she got more serious. "But I need to _keep_ getting better."

The team leader nodded, thinking of the recent disaster with Tash's kidnapping. _She_ was going to be fine, but Adrian's wounds were far more complex. With her shields let down she was able to tell exactly what hurt and where by feeling an echo of the same pain in her own body, but that wasn't much to go on with somebody that badly damaged, both externally and internally. And it was the internal damage that worried her. She had taken enough medical classes in the course of her college carreer that she knew how to repair the majority of his gut wounds, but the damage to his sense organs was something else entirely. The senses, she knew, were incredibly complex, incredibly _fragile_ things - far too complex for her to attempt putting things back in order herself. The damage might even go all the way back to the brain. All she could do was send in as much energy as she could and hope Adrian's body would know what went where.

_'How do you document real life when real life's getting more like fiction each day?'_

"We _all_ need to get better," she said quietly. "We have to."

Danielle was silent for a moment. "Well I'm gonna put this stuff away, and then I'm schedueled to practice weapons with Stacey."

Valerie nodded absently, still lost in her thoughts. "Just make sure you eat some chocolate first to restore your mental energy. In fact, I'll put the mouse away, you--"

"No, I got it!" she said quickly. With a wave she exited down the hall with the white mouse in one hand and the little maze under her other arm. As she went she began to singsong: "_It was a dark and stormy night. The toilet light was dim. We heard a _crash_ and then a _spash_, for _Drew_ had fallen in!_"

Her team leader gave her an exasperated look. "_Danielle..._"

Said redheaded looked back over her shoulder. "What?" she asked impishly. "It's catchy! And Drew deserves it a lot more than Blake does anyway."

"That doesn't mean I'm going to tolerate meanness. Now go on!" She made a shooing motion with her hand, but couldn't help but grin back. It _was_ an amusing image after all.

TTTTT

_Cree... thhhunk._

"So that's when I decided..."

_Cree... thhhunk._

"...that I wasn't going to..."

_Cree... thhhunk._

"...sit on the sidelines anymore."

Valerie reached over her back to her quiver, but her hand only found empty air. She was out of arrows again. As she trotted down the range toward the target to retrive them, she continued, "I mean, I hate fighting. Unless my shields are completely airtight, which they rarely are since it restricts my powers so much, I _can't_ fight. Harming someone else is like deliberately hurting myself, and what sane person does that?"

"I can think of a few people who don't _get_ that concept," her shooting partner, Monika, replied in a soft tone, "but I'm not sure if they qualify as sane, even by our standards."

The brunette nodded. "So I've been hiding out in the Emergency Ward, helping out whoever needs it, and telling myself that that's enough. And most of the time it _is_ enough. But with all these new Sues and Stus showing up in greater numbers with greater threats to our cause and our lives, we need every agent we can muster." Privately she giggled at Tash's reaction when Valerie revealed to the Society about her healing ability, back when Adrian was injured in the Fate/Stay Night universe. _"You've been able to do this for _how_ long?! And you never _told_ us?!?!"_ Valerie could only shrink under their leader's gaze. _"I, uh... I was busy with schoolwork... Finals, you know?"_ It had been an interesting day, to say the least.

"Projective empathy can be used as a weapon if it's strong enough," she continued, "but I'm mainly receptive, so _that's_ harming myself too. Archery is really my only choice, since it keeps me far enough away from my target that it's harder to feel that pain."

Monika nodded as well. Of all in Valerie's team, she had the fewest of what could be deemed "powers." Her only gifts were some mild projective empathy, enough to be _very_ persuasive when she wanted to be, and a great deal of common sense. They had been best friends for as long as they could remember, and even though they had their spats, as all friends do, there was no one who's opinion Valerie valued and trusted more.

"I guess I'm just not sure what to do," the brunette finished lamely. "I don't want to fight, but it seems like, more and more, fighting is the only way to get this war to end." She returned to the beginning of the range with the collected arrows in her quiver and picked up her bow again. "But how is that right? How does violence against the Sues make us any better than them?"

_'In my life, there are so many questions and answers that somehow seem wrong...'_

Monika hesitated a moment before answering. "I _could_ say that we're not the ones making violence," she said slowly, "that _they're_ the ones who brought this battle to us. I could say that up until recently it's just been police work; that _they_ made it into a war, and we're only defending ourselves. But that's not what you're asking, is it?"

Valerie couldn't meet her tall friend's eyes, so she mutely shook her head.

Monika drew back her own bow and continued practice. Valerie did the same. Neither of them spoke for a long time.

TTTTT

There was a sizable black and blue lump on Stacey's right wrist, and it seemed to be growing bigger even as Valerie examined it. "Yep," she said, "That's a bone bruise. And let me tell you, you're not gonna get rid of _that_ in a hurry..." Muttering to herself, the healer opened a cabinet, selected an herb poultice, and handed it to her friend. "Keep that pressed on it as much as you can. And use ice on it when you can't. _Not_ heat; that'll just make the swelling worse."

Danielle looked more demure than Valerie had ever seen her as she hovered over her blonde friend. "I am _so_ sorry, Ami-chan," she said penitantly.

Stacey offered her a pained smile. "I'm hearing deafening appologies from Ezra, Danielle. I don't need them from you too."

The redhead let out a nervous giggle and took a small step back, no longer hovering obsessively. "Sorry," she said again.

Valerie rolled her eyes slightly. "Here," she said, putting a hand on Danielle's shoulder, "why don't you go file an accident report before the paperwork starts breeding again. And after that I want you to find Monika and practice your psychic abilities some more. If she's not around, see if you can annoy a swordwork lesson out of Terrie. Kay?"

Danielle's face split into a broad grin, and Valerie knew she would be seeing Terrie _first_. She left eagerly without a further word.

Back in the Emergency Ward, the two remaining girls chuckled appreciatively at their youngest team member's excitability. "She's been wanting to learn swordwork for nearly a year now," Valerie commented. The only reason Terrie - who _loved_ new chances to show off her skills - hadn't opted to teach her was that Danielle might be too old to begin such complex training from scratch. Valerie privately disagreed. Danielle, though stubborn and impatient at times, had a near miraculous ability to learn almost anything completely on-the-fly, and had a resilience that bordered on the paranormal.

The blonde girl next to her scoffed. "As if she _needs_ a bladed weapon to do significant damage. Her staff seems to work just fine." Valerie noticed the hard gray gleem in her friend's sea-colored eyes and realized that it was not Stacey, but rather her alter-ego Ezra, speaking now. The warrior side of the blonde shot Valerie an almost embarrassed look. "You _do_ realize the spar was tilted in her favor, right? She was armed. I wasn't."

Valerie chuckled. Ezra's pride was the thing most wounded right now. "As if you could possibly do any better with a staff than with your own fists, Ezra. It was fair."

Ezra _never_ pouted. Never. "I went easy on her..."

The healer did her best to suppress the giggle that welled up in her, but it was difficult. Instead, she busied herself with infusing healing energy into the bruised wrist. Her own power combined with the herbs from the poultice, making them that much more effective. Already the swollen area had lightened in color as the pooled blood under the skin resumed proper circulation.

"Next time," she said absently as she worked, "let Stacey fight some. She needs the practice just as much as anyone else, y'know."

"I'm perfectly fine, both of you!" Stacey exclaimed as she took back control. "Geez, I can take a little pain!"

Ezra returned to respond. "Yeah, that's great for you. But can you _inflict_ any?"

Valerie put her hands on her hips. "You of all people should know the answer to that one," she said, addressing Ezra.

The brunette wasn't entirely sure _which_ of them blushed.

"Valerie," Stacey said, suddenly serious, "Are you alright? I know something's bugging you. You've been in such a funk since Blake left."

The healer started, and then remembered that Stacey, too, was an empath. One more sensitive than herself, actually, though with a good deal less control of her abilities due to a complicated home life. Of _course_ she would've noticed Valerie's turmoil, even if she couldn't pinpoint the entire cause.

_'Think of me. Think of me fondly when we've said goodbye.'_

"He was my friend," Valerie said simply. "And I'm going to miss him, even if he doesn't believe I will."

Stacey nodded, and then put her injured hand over Valerie's. "When he's ready to talk to you again, he'll know where to find you."

Valerie let out a half-smirk. "Is that precognition?" she asked dryly. The gift of prophesy was another talent of Stacey's. The girl had power - _lots_ of it. And perhaps everyone in the Library _except_ for her knew it. So even though the healer spoke somewhat sarcastically, part of her - _more_ than part - hoped that Blake really _would_ come back.

Stacey smiled. "Only if you want it to be."

TTTTT

_What a day..._ Even though it was just business as usual in the Anti-Cliche and Mary-Sue Elimination Society, Valerie was feeling a bit more tired than usual as she climbed the stairs to her favorite retreat.

_You should get some chocolate in you, dear_, said a gentle voice in the back of her mind. _You've been working with your mind all day._

Valerie smiled at the concern in her spirit guardian's mindvoice. Ari wasn't the most talkative of beings, but the things she _did_ say were always worth paying attention to. _I'll get some before I leave for home, I promise_, she replied.

A mental nod was her only response, and Valerie continued climbing the spiral staircase to the top of one of the Library's towers. Even in the towers, she noted, books lined the walls in shelves upon shelves... though the brunette was a bit perplexed at some of the more obscure titles. _"The Ancient Guide to Females"? Wasn't that in Xialin Showdown?_ Apparently this building housed not only all the stories, but all the stories _within_ those stories. _I wonder if I can find Nightblades in here somewhere?_ she thought absently as she climbed. _Or maybe Windrider Unchained..._

Finally, she had reached the last stair, and a grin broke across the girl's face as she headed for the balcony to claim her prize: the most spectacular view imaginable.

Because the Library Arcanium existed everywhere and everywhen, the space surrounding it was consequently both nothing and everything. The blackness of space was layered with images both beautiful and fearful, astonishing and ordinary, profane and profound. Every thought in her own mind, as well as every mind that ever existed, was projected onto that midnight sky in a myriad of colors and symbols too chaotic to imagine. And it was never the same twice.

Once, Valerie had tried to take a picture of the vision before her, but the photos had only shown black nothingness. The beauty of the universe was in the eye of the beholder, it seemed.

_'The courage of a dreamer, the innocence of youth...'_

She looked in the direction of a small _woosh_ sound, and smiled as Ari - in her most commonly used form, a small queen fire-lizard - flew lazily toward her chosen and backwinged to land on her shoulder. Valerie smiled again as her guardian nuzzled her neck affectionately, and stroked her back. _Been keeping busy?_ she asked.

_Oh, you know. This and that._ Valerie chuckled at Ari's deliberate obtuseness. The little dragon was always up to _something_, but rarely did she see fit to inform Valerie of her activities. Valerie was always left curious, but always gave up asking eventually.

_You've been visiting the basement again, haven't you._

The abrupt change of subject surprised Valerie, and she turned to look at her guardian with a start. "Why do you ask?" she said aloud, not wanting to speak with her jumbled thoughts.

_Because you are invariably attracted to people in pain and bad spirits,_ Ari said plainly. _And though the Mary-Sues in the basement dungeon only barely merit being called "people," you will still feel compelled to help them and comfort them to the best of your ability. Even without empathy to compel you to ease such disturbances, it's just in your nature to want to help those who need it and help them avoid further harm. Am I right?_

Ari was _exactly_ right, but neither of them needed to say that. The fact was, Valerie had been visiting the prisoners in the dungeon once or twice a week for over two months now, talking to them and bringing them cushions or blankets, things to make their accomodations more comfortable for them. They were, after all, only acting as they were created to act, so didn't they deserve the same fair treatment as everyone else? And though they inserted themselves into fandoms, they only did so because they didn't _have_ a home to call their own. They were drifters, hopping from fandom to fandom in an attempt to make something of themselves. And, when you got right down to it, they just wanted to make things right in the storylines.

Valerie would never admit it, but she sometimes wondered if they even had the right to persecute people who only wanted a place to belong.

_'...The failures and the foolishness that lead us to the truth...'_

_And what about Runoa?_ Ari interjected, picking up on her thoughts as she always did. _She's the reason Adrian nearly died _twice_. Or Harold, who beat Michael into a bloody pulp without batting an eye? Or perhaps Willowe, the diabolical mistress behind everything we've gone through so far? You've sensed their minds and hearts throughout your journey, Valerie, and you know without question that perfection is _not_ what they're after. They want _control_._

Valerie felt some of the tension leave her stomach, and nodded. Once again, Ari was exactly right. There was no compassion in the hearts of Mary-Sues, only a desire for domination. Characters and fandoms are so much easier to manipulate if they're content, after all. And if all the characters are content with their lives, there would be nothing left for them to strive for. No story at all! _That_ was how fandoms were destroyed in the presence of Sues: the storyline simply... stopped.

_What Willowe and her kind don't see is the perfection that's already there_, Valerie thought. _Everything happens for a reason. Every story, even the most deadly of blacklisted fandoms, has a plot that's already worked-out and perfected. All the trials and hardships... if not for them, how would we know what happiness even is?_

Ari blinked at her with swirling blue draconic eyes. _You cannot know warmth if you have never known cold_, she quoted. _You cannot know know happiness if you have never known sadness. You cannot know love if you have never known fear._

_And you cannot know peace if you have never known war_, Valerie finished. _I understand. Fandoms... our _lives_, even, are based around the fact that everyone has to have encountered both ends of the spectrum in order to recognize either when we see it. If all there is is Sue-manufactured happiness, then there's no happiness at all._

_'...The hopes that make us happy, the hopes that don't come true...'_

Ari nodded her triangular head. _But there's something else that's bothering you tonight. Tell me._

Valerie laughed. _Compared to everything else that's going on even as we speak, my everyday little troubles seem kind of petty..._

_They matter to _you_,_ Ari said firmly, _That's all that counts._

The brunette sighed. _I guess I'm just feeling lonely_, she admitted, _and maybe a little jealous. So many of my best friends are just deliriously happy with their romantic lives. Tash and Adrian. Michael and Claire. Danielle and Felix. Stacey and Don. Even Terrie and Zanney. Sometimes I feel like I'm not good enough to be... _wanted_ like that._

It was impossible to hide anything when speaking mind-to-mind, and Valerie suddenly found herself on the recieving end of a surprisingly penetrating blue gaze. _No_, Ari said in a tone Valerie couldn't quite place. She almost sounded angry. _No, Valerie. _Never_ think that sort of thing._ It was all she seemed able to say.

Valerie was caught up in the depthless blue for a moment longer, then let out a small laugh. _Well, I know it's not _really_ true,_ she said,_ but you know me. My confidence has never been very high. I just have trouble going out and meeting people, is all._

_Your confidence skyrockets when you're defending the ones you love_, Ari said in that same almost-angry tone, _When it really _matters_, you have no hesitation at all. You will happily lay down your life to save a virtual stranger - Don't deny it! I've seen you. The real you comes through when you're helping _someone else_, and that makes you more precious than anything else in all the worlds._

Valerie had absolutely no idea what to say.

_'...And all the love that ever was. I see this all in you.'_

Never_ feel like you're not good enough, Valerie_, Ari said, _because you are the most _good_ person I know. And if you don't believe me..._ Her mindvoice gentled considerably, and her depthless blue eyes focused on a point behind her, _ask your friends._

Valerie turned around, and was stunned to see all the members of her team, plus Tash, standing at the top of the tower stairs behind her, waiting for her to notice their presence. "How... How did you guys know I was here?" she sputtered.

Tash was grinning. "I was sitting in the common room, going over the blueprints I found for some of Adrian's booby traps, when I heard singing coming from the west tower. The others said it was you, so we came to visit you. You sound nice!"

"Wait a sec," Valerie interrupted, confused, "I wasn't singing! In fact I haven't said more that five words since I got up here! How could you hear me?"

Terrie walked over and put an arm around the taller girl's shoulder. "Hun, take our word for it. You were singing."

"You do it all the time," Stacey said. "You really couldn't tell?"

"How do you _not know_ when you're singing?" Danielle asked, giggling a bit. "You do it so often, I think everyone in the Library recognized your voice by now!"

"I can sort of see why it's a Sueish trait to have a nice voice," Monika commented, leaning against the railing. "It's nice to have it around, always in the background like that. Kind of calming, you know?"

For the second time, Valerie was rendered completely speechless. _I've been singing without realizing it? All day?_

_More like all your life,_ Ari commented dryly. Valerie flushed, and was profoundly glad she was the only one who could hear her guardian.

"Listen Val," Stacey said, "Why don't you come back downstairs. Tash has pretty much figured out how to disarm the trap in the autobiography section, so we'll have plenty of cookies to munch on. Ezra wanted to know if you had another poultice for me, 'cause I think this one's worn out." She help up her bandaged hand to reveal a worn, lumpy herb poultice in need of replacement (though the wrist itself looked just about healed).

"And I've got some more drawings to show you!" Danielle said eagerly.

"And I was wondering if I could enlist your help in rounding up all the plot bunnies that have been breeding in the animal pen," said Tash. "With all the publicity we've been getting and all the new rookies that keep coming in, they've just been breeding like mad!"

"Hey," Terrie replied, "it's better than dealing with writer's block."

Tash looked skeptical. "With the way they've been biting everybody, I'm not so sure. Some of those bunnies have some pretty weird ideas..."

Valerie looked among her friends, the closest people in her life. They might not always get along, but they were, without question, standing behind her. _With_ her. Through thick and thin. She looked out once again at the swirling not-void, mesmerized by the shifting colors and designs. In the chaos that is the known universe, how could anybody _not_ find perfection in little wonders like this? In everyday miracles that fit flawlessly within the disorder and cacophany of life, in perfect moments in time that made the rest of it worthwhile?

_Never feel like you're not good enough, Valerie_, Ari had said. _Never feel like you're alone._

"Come on, guys," Valerie said with a smile. "Let's head back downstairs."

Her friends smiled back at her, and she felt like she could take on the world.

_"Always look on the bright side of life..."_

TTTTT

Ari watched her chosen go back inside with a feeling of mild regret. What she had said was true: a person cannot truly know a thing until he or she has learned it's opposite. But although Valerie had encountered her opposite many many times, in many different forms, she had yet to realize how extroridinary she really was.

_Who else would see perfection in a world so troubled, Valerie?_ she said silently. _Who else would find the pinpoint of light when everyone else is drowning in darkness?_

_That_ was her destiny, Ari knew. When all else was in darkness, Valerie would help them - _all_ of them - rediscover the light. It was Ari's mission to protect her until she was ready, and guide her along her path. Valerie was a true Healer, and she _would_ fulfill her dream of healing the worlds... one close friend at a time.

A soft soprano voice floated up the stairwell and past Ari's ears. It sang of love and healing, joy and sorrow, but most of all it sang of forgiveness, and hope for a better future. A hope that resided in Valerie, and the lives of everyone she touched.

_"For out of what we live, and we believe, our lives become the stories that we weave."_

The dragon flew off into the distance.

_-o-o-o-o-o-_

AN: Well, there you are. Now you all know why I'm too serious to do this job properly. XD Song quotes come from, in order, _Chicago_, _Rent_, _Les Miserables_, _The Phantom of the Opera_, _Once on this Island_, _Spamalot_, and _Once on this Island_ (again). Also, if anyone was wondering, Ari is the only one Valerie can mindspeak, since they have a bond. Ari can mindspeak others if she feels like it, but most of the time she doesn't feel like it. Stacey and Ezra can speak to each other too. They just swapped placed to include Valerie in the conversation.

TTTTT

A/N ; _Another wonderful entry…keep 'em coming!_


	10. Rhia: Plot Bunny Sniper Rifle

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library  
(And Guests)

A/N: _Another day, another entry. Keep 'em coming folks._

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A/N: Hmm…I get to rant about something, create a story that doesn't have any real plot, and get it posted in a much read story? Yup, I'm likin' this idea

Rhia: Plot Bunny Sniper Rifle

The shots of the rifle rang through the shooting range. Terrified plot bunnies attempted to hide near the wall, but that didn't work very well. In between shots maniacal laughter rebounded everywhere. They traveled through the whole Library and made some of the other agents shiver. Echoes of the word 'die' rumbled through the halls. These signs of apparent cruelty roused Adrian's curiosity and he sauntered down to the shooting range to find out what was going on.

Arriving there, he found Rhia shooting at plot bunnies with a very odd rifle. On the side he could see a label, "Plot Bunny Sniper Rifle".

"Rhia, what are you doing?"

"Shooting Merthur and other slash pairing plot bunnies in the Merlin fandom."

"Why?"

"It's not canon. They die."

"I thought you liked slash."

"I do. When it can be proven by canon."

"I am assuming Merthur isn't?"

"IT'S NOT EVEN IN THE ARTHURIAN LEGENDS!!!!" I mean, seriously! Think about the time period you're writing stuff in! This is medieval times, people! Back then, if you were homosexual, you were either thought sick or possessed by a demon, sorcerer, witch, ect, that was making you do it. Both Arthur and Merlin were probably so straight that they made metal poles look twisted! Same with femslash! C'mon! Get a grip, it can't happen, please stop writing about it. And what really annoys me is that most of the Merlin fanfiction I've seen is Merthur! Can't anyone get their heads out of the homosexual gutters?" With the end of that rant, Rhia returned to shooting the Merthur plot bunnies.

"How can you tell that they're slash bunnies?"

"It's not hard when you see one bunny hump another bunny of the same gender. After I'm done with this I plan on taking their pelts and making a nice rabbit fur stole."

"Oooookkay." Adrian was starting to walk away slowly from the more than slightly crazy girl when she put down the rifle.

"Well, that's done until another batch comes in. Are you hungry, Adrian? C'mon, I'm hungry. I'll make something for both of us."

"Just how good are you at cooking?"

Rhia rolled her eyes. "Stop worrying. I haven't poisoned anyone yet. Heck, hand me any recipe and the ingredients and I can make it."

"So you can cook."

"Yes, I can cook very well."

_In The Kitchen_

In between bites of the sandwitches that Rhia had made, Adrian remarked, "You know, the authors whose plot bunnies you killed are going to want to hurt you."

"I hate them just as much as they hate me. They can try all they want." And she giggled.

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	11. Karissa and Charis: Solitary

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library  
And Guests

A/N_:__ Umm….yeah…_

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**A/N:** Yes, I know, it's just Karissa and Charis again. Other authors' characters are just so well-developed and..._individualized_ that I would feel like I was screwing up the second I dared to touch someone else's characters. I'll admit that I'm scared of the challenge.

This turned out to be such a specific and serious fluff-piece. I am totally not good at funny, because this doesn't resemble the spoof that I started writing.

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I.

It had been an interesting first week for Karissa.

On Monday she passed her training mission, the only thing standing in her way of being truly called an Agent of the Anti-Cliché and Mary-Sue Elimination Society. Thanks to her charm - and Charis' Bookmark – Tash had let her off for failing to actually capture her Sue. It didn't matter much, because Karissa knew Lela, and the multitude of fandoms would be safe for a long while before the Sue could ever accrue enough power to seriously endanger anyone or anything; that part didn't matter much. However, the fact that she was finally _in _- she had a place where she could belong - that mattered very much to Karissa.

II.

As a reward for shedding her Rookie status, she was allowed to sleep in on Tuesday. Karissa woke up at two in the afternoon, head propped up on her arms behind a protective wall of books. She didn't think anyone was nearby, because this was the section on Podiatric Medicine in Non-Fiction, after all; but in any case, the books piled up in front of her would have shielded her from the view of any curious passersby. Karissa looked such a mess when sleeping, and the fact that she had passed out in the first chair that welcomed her would have made great material for anyone looking to blackmail her. Rubbing her eyes to stimulate wakefulness, she set off to explore the maze of her new home for the seven hours that remained before she would once again head to bed.

III.

By Wednesday, Karissa had memorized all the plausible areas of the Library – the non-plausible areas being the little extra rooms that might pop up in response to your needs, much like the _Harry Potter_ Room of Requirement – and she'd finally found _her_ bedroom. Karissa dove at the suitcase someone had delivered for her, clawing at the front of the black luggage until the stuck zipper popped, letting bundles of tight plastic spill out. She had stolen the idea from Rebecca Bloomwood (_Shopaholic _series) when the time had come to pack and she'd been booted to this world by her Author. Karissa unstuck the tape on the vacuum-sealed bags, releasing clothes, toiletries, books, posters, furniture and furnishings, along with her favourite snack foods. She kicked the luggage underneath her bed before opening a package of instant soba noodles, impractically eager to eat although the noodles had yet to be cooked. Needless to say, she hadn't eaten Monday or Tuesday.

IV.

Charis cooked dinner on Thursday night. The previous day, she too had finished settling into her accommodations. The Master of the Library had generously granted the older sister her own workshop outside of the regular ACMSES Science lab when she'd hinted that she would feel much more at ease outdoors; so now they ate outside the building called the Library, but they were still within the Library Arcanium's exterior boundary. Charis had prepared an appetizer buffet made up entirely of seafood, much to Karissa's delight. "I'm never importing this stuff for you again."

Charis cautioned Karissa as they began to dig in. "It was bad enough that you demanded San Franciscan -caught shrimp and crab when we lived in Canada, but try arranging for fresh seafood to arrive through a temporal disruption like the one that surrounds the Library!"

Her sister chewed happily through her complaints. "Do you want to watch a movie tonight?" she asked Charis once they'd finished their meal.

"But a little birdie told me you'd recently taken to going sleeping at 9 o'clock."

"Well, when you suffer from hunger pangs, sleep is your only respite." "I'll watch _Hannibal Rising_ with you."

"Oh, never mind."

V.

Karissa lounged lazily on a denim beanbag chair while Charis put the finishing touches on her first qualifying gadget for official membership of the ACMSES Science Society.

"There, it's perfect!" Charis said happily. She pulled off her glasses, and her long yellow rubber gloves, then in the same movement she pulled a shroud over the workbench.

"Won't you show me what it is?" Karissa wheedled.

"No, and no means no." Their sisterly banter resulted in a pillow fight, complete with mysteriously conjured pillows, like it usually did.

When Karissa collapsed in defeat onto another beanbag chair, she discovered she'd been carefully led away from Charis' inventing space, further ensuring that she would catch no early glimpse of the mysterious object. "Ow! You gave me a bruise that will last until Saturday," she moaned. "A day of pain will put some perspective on things...like, you you'll never be able to triumph over your older sister.

" "I can't believe I wasted a Friday watching you make whatever-it-is. Other forms of hazing are much more entertaining to witness."

"But if I can pass this test, I'll be an official ACMSES Scientist." Charis' expression turned joyous at the thought. "Gaspard Ulliel." Charis' smile lifted, even more ecstatic.

"You watched _Hannibal _yesterday, even without me," Karissa accused. "You just had to get your celebrity fix."

VI.

On Saturday, there were no fights. Things were quiet within the Society, and things were even quieter in Karissa's room. Karissa and Charis spent another day in self-imposed exile from the rest of the Library's occupants, but each felt almost ready to face the world next day. Karissa hung upside-down off the edge of her bed, and one of her legs lay draped over Charis' crossed-legs lap. "What did our Author say to you when you left?" she asked after a long silence.

"Goodbye."

"She didn't offer anything more heart-warming than that?"

"No. She just said 'goodbye'" Charis stated simply.

"Yeah, me too." Karissa moped in the direction of the floor. "Do you think She misses us even a little, by now? This is the sixth hour of our sixth day apart."

"She might not be thinking of us this very second, but that doesn't mean She never cared for us."

Tired of her sister's roundabout questions, Charis broke the mould by being uncharacteristically frank. "Haven't you taken a look at that battered monstrosity that you call a suitcase? There's no way you could fit all of this-" A hand swept out to encompass the contents of the room, "Inside those little bags, in there, even with the strongest vacuum cleaner known to man. I happen to know for a fact that She wrote a little assistance for you." Charis waggled her fingers in a way to indicate magic. Written magic. "She put a pen to paper expressedly for you."

VII.

When the summons came in about another Sue, Karissa was ready. When it turned out there was a possibility the Sue was Lela, Karissa didn't bat an eye at the prospect of leaving on a second mission so soon. "Wait. D-man is a black-listed fandom, as you may or may not know. I'm afraid I'll have to require you to take a partner on your mission."

Karissa visibly blanched, her pale complexion becoming more ghostly than usual. "Charis-"

"Is needed here for her work. Besides, she has no weapons or abilities to defend herself with in a hostile fandom."

Karissa knew her sister. They'd had another mock-fight this morning, and again Charis had won; she would not be useless in battle, but she continued to permit the Society to think she had no skill. What a bother.

"Well? I can't let you enter -man alone." Tash frowned at what she thought to be simple stubbornness.

Karissa's thoughts roamed over who else she could possibly trust – maybe she could work with Aster or Tyler after all – but then yesterday's conversation came back to her in perfect clarity. "I can contact my Author! She owes me one!" Karissa exclaimed in inspiration, excitedly pounding a fist into her other hand. She would create a reason for them to meet again, and then she could let Her know that she was doing all right. She still had Her e-mail address.

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A/N: _For future reference, Agents cannot enter a Blacklisted fandom just by taking a partner. The mission needs to be approved one of the Four Leaders and then you need to either take Tash/Harriet/Adrian with you. Remember, they're on that list because they are very lethal and deadly and home to many exceedingly powerful people and entities._


	12. Emily: Technical Issues

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library

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A/N:I wrote this...then decided it was crap, deleted most of it, and rewrote it all again with an entirely new plot. I like this one better. Enjoy!

**Technical Issues**

Harriet tapped gently on the door, positive that the occupant of the room was still asleep, for there was no light coming from the crack between the door and floor. It was unusual though, because her charge was normally up at this point – they had a lesson in fifteen minutes.

"Emily? Are you awake?"

There was no answer, but Harriet was sure she could hear a low groan inside the room. Making up her mind, she pushed the door open and flicked on the lights. The ten year old girl's room was a mess. Books, tools, scrunched up bits of failed artwork, and clothes littered the floor, and the walls were splattered with bits of artwork, that were either finished, or in the process of being finished. Emily's pride and joy was the giant tree that she had painted onto the ceiling.

The artist herself was curled up underneath her duvet in a small ball. Picking her way carefully across the cluttered floor, Harriet sat on the edge of the bed and peeled back the covers. A pale, thin face looked back at her, a faint sweat on her forehead. At first Harriet thought she might have had a nightmare, but as soon as the light hit her face, Emily squeezed her eyes shut, and her face went paler. She also seemed to be doubling up in pain.

"What's wrong?" Harriet asked, rubbing her back soothingly. The ten year old girl took a deep breath to answer...before clapping a hand over her mouth and sprinting for the bathroom.

Harriet blinked several times, surprised at the speed with which the young girl had moved, until the sounds of Emily being sick next door snapped her out of it, and she pulled out her phone.

"Val? Could you come to Emily's room please? We have a problem."

OOO

"_What's wrong Palm Tree?"_

_The smallest of the sisters was holding back tears of pain._

"_My tummy hurts..."_

"_Oh dear...must have been the oysters," Ashley's face was sympathetic. "You get into bed. Relax for the rest of the day."_

"_I wish Willowe were here," June muttered to herself. "She knew a great remedy for stomach-aches..."_

_Maybe it was irritability brought on by her illness, or annoyance that she was being treated like a baby at eight years old, but the youngest sister snapped a retort out as she clambered back into bed._

"_If she's so wonderful, then why isn't she here?"_

_The sister's faces had turned stony, and for the first time, Palm Tree felt scared._

"_Don't you dare speak about your sister that way," June said sternly. "Now go to sleep."_

OOO

"Food poisoning," Valerie declared. "Must have been the pizza last night."

"That can't be," Harriet objected. "We all had Dominos last night, and no one else is ill."

"I dunno," Tash called from the bathroom, where she was on her hands and knees cleaning up the mess. "I'm still being haunted by the image of Leonard gnawing a hole through his..."

All the girls shuddered, and Emily curled up tighter under her covers.

"I think Val is right," she admitted. "And I was the only one to have ground beef on my pizza. Maybe that was it."

"Do you think you can try and keep some food down?" Valerie asked. Emily went pale and shook her head, the very thought of eating making her more nauseas than ever.

"Water?" the healer asked, knowing dehydration was the biggest problem when someone was sick. Emily shook her head again. She had tried to keep water down through the night, but it had just made her worse.

"What about flat lemonade and flat coke?" Harriet suggested. "That's what I had when I had food poisoning. Worked pretty well."

Valerie thought for a second. Flat fizzy drinks would give Emily plenty of energy in lieu of food, and keep her hydrated, while the acid neutralised her stomach. It was definitely worth trying.

"We'll give that a go. I'd rather not have to put her on a drip. In the mean time, can we move her to the medical wing? I'd like to keep an eye on her."

Emily stumbled as she got up, and eventually, Harriet decided to carry her. Her legs were too shaky to support her weight, and so, wrapped in her duvet, blanket, and with her arms tightly around her pillow, the ten year old was carried to the wing. By the time they made it, she had fallen asleep again.

OOO

_And over there is kitchen one..." Harriet trailed off as screaming, human shaped blur shot past them. Emily couldn't see who it was, but at this point, another figure rounded the corner, and she had to blink several times – it looked like a three foot high stick of wood with claws and teeth. Without a word, the wood raced past the two and after the feeing male agent._

"_And that was Ben, and his muse Shirley..." Harriet added. "Don't piss Shirley off..."_

"_NO! NOT THE LIVER! PLEASE NOT THE LIVER!"_

_Harriet paled and steered her charge into the kitchen without another word._

OOO

Emily was woken by a clatter somewhere next to her head.

"Here..." Rhia had placed a tray on the table, and was explaining to a surprised looking Valerie. "I heated them to get them flat faster, so they may still be a little warm."

"Good idea," Valerie nodded, and took the glass of coke. "Thanks Rhia."

"One more thing," Harriet said, before Rhia could vanish again. "I know your kitchen is clean Rhia, but would you mind just disinfecting the surfaces again? We're pretty sure she's got food poisoning from the pizza, but on the off chance it is something more sinister, we don't want to take any risks."

Rhia nodded. "What about kitchen one?"

"Tash is doing that now," Harriet assured her. "Something about people being ill turns her into an obsessive cleaner."

Emily wished they'd all be quiet and let her sleep, but Valerie was shaking her shoulder gently to get her to pay attention.

"Emily, can you have a few sips of this please?"

The ten year old stubbornly buried her face into the duvet.

"Don't wanna..." she whined. She knew she was being petulant, but she really didn't want to be sick again, and she was worried that drinking would do just that.

"You don't need to drink much," Valerie soothed. "Just a little bit. It should help."

"Its flat coke..." Emily stated. "It'll be icky..."

"She must be sick," Harriet muttered. "She's never said icky in her life."

"...there's a colourful straw in it," Valerie said, brightly. Emily cracked an eye open and winced – the world seemed a bit too bright for her liking.

"What colour?"

"Green," Harriet said. "Rhia thought you'd find it amusing. The one in the lemonade is yellow."

Sighing, Emily raised her head enough to take a few small sips. She didn't like the taste at all, but it wasn't as bad as she had expected.

"Thank you," Valerie smiled. Emily's only response was to stick her tongue out and close her eyes again.

"We'll wake you up in a bit so you can have more," Harriet was saying, but Emily wasn't listening. Another wave of tiredness was overcoming her, and she quickly nodded off again.

OOO

"_Umm...hi Natasha," Emily was caught off guard seeing the Society leader here – especially since she seemed to be sneaking out of the Vault of Abandoned Ideas. Emily knew what the room was of course, it was just she had been under the impression that no one but Adrian was allowed in there...certainly the Librarian was the only one with keys._

_Tash paled and hastily hid something behind her back, though not fast enough for Emily caught a glimpse of it. It looked like a small silver keyring with a large blue button on it._

"_Hi Emily...what brings you down here?"_

_Emily hefted the books in her bag. "Just had a lesson with Harriet...what were you doing in the Vault?"_

"_Nothing," Tash answered too quickly, and she began shifting nervously. "I'd better be going now..."_

_She raced off down the corridor, leaving a confused, and insatiably curious ten year old girl._

OOO

Emily wasn't sure what time it was when she woke up, but she got the feeling that she hadn't been sleeping for long. Tash was sitting next to her bed, fiddling with what looked like a large twisted piece of metal, but which Emily immediately recognised as a flight stabiliser. Her stomach was still cramping, but she knew she should probably drink a little more. A quick glance around told her that Valerie had gone somewhere, which was good, because she was dying to talk to Tash.

"Hey hon," the second in command smiled. "How do you feel?"

"Tired," Emily said truthfully, sitting up slowly. At least, she realised, she didn't feel dizzy and weak any longer. "Any of Rhia's magic lemonade around?"

Tash picked up the glass and helped her drink. "This reminds me of when Hati had food poisoning," she admitted. "She spent the whole weekend in bed, and she barely ate a thing. There was just me running to the corner store to get Coke and Schweppes."

"Where was Lauren?" Emily asked curiously, finishing another sip, and resting the glass on her lap.

"Gone home for the weekend," Tash shrugged. "Though we think she must have a stomach of steel, because she ate exactly the same as Hati and she didn't get ill."

Emily shrugged, before focusing on the flight stabiliser in Tash's lap. "Won't you blow your little secret if everyone sees you with that thing? What will they think?"

Tash gave a mischievous grin. "They'll think I'm bringing you something to mess with while you're ill. Relax, I doubt they'll guess the truth. I was actually wondering if you knew what I was doing wrong. I was trying to wedge it back into the wing, and it wouldn't go."

Emily gave the stabiliser a look, took another gulp of lemonade, before examining it.

"...which way were you putting it in?" she asked, handing it back to her friend. Tash held it out stretched in demonstration.

"Like this..." she said. Emily rolled her eyes and turned Tash's hand upside down so that the stabiliser was the right way up.

"Ooooh...right," Tash said slowly, her cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. "Sorry..."

Emily's sigh turned into a groan of pain, as her stomach reminded her it was there, and her throat began to burn.

"You alright?" Tash said, dropping the stabiliser and reaching for the bowl on the bed side table.

"Too much lemonade," Emily managed to say, before grabbing the bowl and vomiting once more.

OOO

"_I'm sorry..."_

"_Stop saying that Emily," Harriet said patiently._

"_But I am," the ten year old said. "I'm really sorry...I singed all your eyebrows off!"_

_Harriet patted her on the head. "They'll grow back. Trust me, my eyebrows and my hair could set a world record for the speed they grow."_

_Looking for comfort, Emily petted a dozing Meg on the head. The collie, freshly washed to get all the brownie mix off her fur, had parked herself on her lap, and didn't seem to want to get off. Beth had warned Emily that Meg could make herself incredibly heavy when she didn't want to move from someone, and so it looked as though she was stuck in this sofa for a while._

"_Don't worry," Tash smiled. "Rhia is letting Emma use her kitchen, and they're making another batch – Emma's brownies are the best. Trust me, they're worth waiting for."_

_Emily shot a look in the direction of the Library's main kitchen, from which the smell of burned plastic, cake and hair could still be detected. "Still...I feel bad. I'm supposed to be good with machines and I blow up the bloody oven!"_

"_Language young lady," Harriet warned sharply, and Emily buttoned her lip._

"_Emily, blowing up kitchen stuff is half the fun of baking," Beth told her, sitting down beside her. Meg immediately changed laps, causing Beth to groan in exasperation, and Emily looked curious._

"_It...is?"_

"_Yeah," Tash nodded. "We've all done it."_

_Harriet smirked. "Yup. We've added the wrong amount of ingredients to our food...broken plates...some of us even set oven gloves on fire..."_

_Tash gasped. "Harriet! You swore you would never tell!"_

_Beth burst out laughing, and Emily felt herself giggle. Meg, overexcited by the sudden noise, leaped off Beth's lap and began bouncing around on the floor._

"_See," Harriet grinned. "Cooking is meant to be fun."_

_Emily paused and thought a little. "Well...my sisters never ate cake and stuff. They complained it ruined their figures. So I'd never really got to cook before."_

"_Don't worry," Beth told her. "Once your two week ban from the kitchen is over, Emma and Rhia can teach you. They're really good at it."_

"_And just remember, that making mistakes is part of the fun," Harriet said. Now it was Tash who was smirking._

"_And remember, setting oven gloves on fire, isn't half as bad as "_bleach doesn't stain_"."_

_This time it was Harriet who gave an outraged gasp, as everyone laughed once more. Emily however was thinking._

Mistakes aren't bad? _she thought in wonder. _My sisters never told me that...

OOO

Emily felt as though someone was banging very hard on her skull with a hammer when she woke up. She knew it was probably because she was dehydrated, and she really should try and drink a little bit of coke. Strangely, dreaming about 'the brownie incident' hadn't made her feel any sicker, and the cramps in her stomach had lessened slightly. She hoped that meant her stomach was empty of things to throw up.

As soon as she moved however, her throat and jaw began to burn again, and she seized the bowl. Someone was pulling her short hair back and rubbing soothing circles on her back, which made it slightly more bearable.

"That's better," Valerie said, when she was finished. "You're just bringing up fluid now, so hopefully that'll be the last of it."

"My head hurts," Emily complained, as she settled back down and the healer handed her some mouthwash.

"I'm not surprised," Valerie stated, before handing her the glass of coke. "You need to drink more of this."

Emily sighed and took a tiny sip, before feeling that was enough, and replacing the glass on the table.

"Oh Tash left this earlier," Valerie said, holding up, what looked like a small computer panel, with wires trailing from it. "She thought when you're feeling better you might like to fiddle with it."

Emily smiled. She knew _exactly _where that piece of machinery was from.

"Can I ask what this is?" Valerie asked. Emily shook her head with a grin.

"Sorry. Tash made me promise."

Valerie's eyebrows arched. "Big secret?"

Emily pressed her finger to her lips. "Secret secret."

The healer chuckled. "Alright. You'll probably feel more up to it after tomorrow. Hopefully your body will start trying to recover."

The girl nodded and curled up. "I hope so...I had a dream about food, which probably didn't help..."

"Really?" Valerie asked. Emily nodded.

"Yeah, the brownie incident."

Valerie chuckled again. "Oh yeah...the week you got banned from the kitchen and the tech labs...you were so bored..."

"That wasn't my fault..." Emily complained weakly. It was true. She blamed that entire incident on Miriku. It had been the red haired agent's idea to have a Transformers Animated marathon, and consequently Emily had spent the next three days driving Camille up the wall, insisting that Doyle was a Decepticon. She had been banned from the lab for two weeks to allow the stressed technician to work in peace.

Valerie patted her head. "Rest Emily. I'll be round in a little while to make sure you drink more."

Groaning at the thought, Emily drifted off again.

OOO

_Had she not heard the singing, Emily might never have known that there was someone else coming down the corridor. She looked up from the Prohibitor that she had been unscrewing (she had wanted to see how it worked inside) to see a young woman approaching with a stack of paperwork in her arms. She had long brown hair and by her shoulder flew what looked like a small dragon. On closer inspection, Emily realised it was a fire lizard, and she recognised the woman from the few times she had seen her – it was Valerie, the Society healer._

_Emily had heard that Valerie had a tendency to wander around singing to herself, but she had never actually heard it before now. She had never particularly liked music – her sisters all had lovely voices, which had sent men and women of all ages falling over themselves when they heard it. This had just added to the number of talents that they possessed that they used to make everyone love them. Emily couldn't understand how someone could fall in love with a voice. But now she did – Valerie's singing was beautiful._

_So distracted was she, that her screwdriver slipped from her grasp, clattering against the floor and rolling through a doorway that had been left ajar. Uttering a few of Tash's choices swearwords (that she really wasn't supposed to use, according to Harriet), she bolted after it._

_The screwdriver had bounced down the staircase, and Emily scrambled down them in its wake. The room had lights glowing from the walls, but like many of the rooms in the Library, the lack of windows made shadows jump from everywhere._

_As her hand clasped over the screwdriver, she realised where she was._

_The cell bars were chilling, but more so were the faces behind them. Though the Sues and Stus looked to be in good condition, the very fact that they were behind bars seemed to give them a more helpless and defeated look, which was only enhanced by the Prohibitors keeping their powers in check._

_Emily swallowed thickly, and stumbled towards the staircase, praying that none of them would recognise her._

"_Traitor!"_

_Too late, Juniper's face was framed in her cell door, most of her beauty gone, replaced with fury at the sister who had betrayed them all._

"_Your own sisters Palm, and you leave us to rot down here?! How could you?!"_

_Other Sues began shouting and screaming, and now they knew who she was Emily knew she would not be spared the insults. She covered her ears and gave into her instinct – to curl up on the floor and make herself as small a target as possible. Through the din, the voices of Holly, Juniper, Ashley and Aspen were clearest, yelling, cursing at her and swearing their revenge against the one who had put them in prison._

_A loud screech cut through the shouting and the Sues fell silent, but fear kept the ten year old in her place, until a gentle hand set itself on her shoulder and strong arms pulled her upright. Emily couldn't see through tears, but she knew from the soothing voice that it was Valerie who was now urging her out of the basement, and from the soft wing beats, it had been Ari's cry that had silenced the Sues._

_After that a new rule was introduced in the Society that exempted Emily from any duties that required her to go near the basement._

OOO

For the rest of the night, Emily drifted in and out of something resembling consciousness. She didn't remember waking up, only the vague sensation that someone had held her and given her more to drink before letting her fall immediately back to unconsciousness. Her stomach had felt like someone was trying to tie it in knots, and her headache had swung between a pounding hammer and a falling blacksmiths anvil on her skull. She had no idea how long she had been like this, nor did she really care. She just wanted to not be sick anymore.

When she next woke up, Harriet was sitting at the foot of her bed. The clocks above Valerie's vacated desk, at the end of the wing, said seven thirty two GM time (which was what Emily ran on). The girl yawned, and realised that her stomach had stopped cramping finally, but she had never felt so exhausted.

"Morning..." she told Harriet. The leader raised an eyebrow.

"Evening sweetheart," she said, and Emily blinked in confused. "It's Friday evening. You were completely out of it today."

Surprise worked its way onto Emily's face. It had been Thursday morning when she had woken up feeling so ill. Sure enough, the glasses of lemonade and coke were different – or at least they had different straws – and to her surprise, the beds opposite her were occupied. Drake was lying back with a bag of blood being fed through a tube into his arm, and Tyler was next to him with an ice pack over his forehead.

"What happened to you?" Emily asked the boys. Tyler gave her a look.

"Adrian's booby traps happened," he informed her, before looking at Harriet. "Can I go yet? I've been here six hours already..."

"No," Harriet said firmly. "Not until Valerie is awake and she's seen you."

"Where is Val?" Emily asked, looking around for the healer.

"Sleeping," Harriet said. "She was up most of the night with you. I told her I'd watch the ward while she got some rest."

"Are you sure you're inserted this needle correctly?" Drake asked, checking how much more blood he had to go through. "This seems to be taking a long time..."

Harriet looked at him in wonder. "You got a huge gash ripped in your side by a swinging knife, and you're worried about my ability with a needle?! For crying out loud, I used to be an auxiliary nurse. I know what I'm doing!"

She sat back on the bed with a loud huff, and Emily gave a giggle, which turned into a yawn. She couldn't believe she was still tired after doing nothing but sleeping for the past day.

"Get some more rest," Harriet told her. "Your body is still trying to recover all the energy it's used up."

"Mmm...yes mother," Emily sighed, leaning back and counting the ceiling tiles in an effort to relax herself.

The last thing she heard was Tyler leaning over to Drake and whispering.

"Dude...what was _in _that pizza?"

OOO

"_Take it!"_

"_No way June!"_

"_Palm Tree you have to learn this! Take the sword!"_

"_Why? Because _Willowe _knows it? Who cares about her?! She's not even around anymore!"_

_CRACK!_

_She couldn't believe what had just happened, but the stinging in her cheek held the proof. Juniper looked just as surprised at her own reaction, but her face turned stern quickly again._

"_Never speak ill of our sister. I've embraced my powers, and soon Ashley and Aspen will too. You must start training."_

"_Training..." the girl was holding back tears, but she had one last thing she wanted to say. "Training to be perfect?" She raised her head and glared at her sister. "That's how killers are made, Juniper."_

_And she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room._

OOO

"...ugh, Kyon you're stupid!" came an agitated voice.

"_Oh God...is she still here?" _Emily asked herself, uncharacteristically annoyed at being awoken. "_I thought even fae needed a break from reading..."_

Aster had shown up first thing in the morning with a stack of manga volumes to 'cheer Emily up'. Emily had thanked her, but stated that she was too tired to start reading them now. Aster had looked extremely put out, especially as Emily had started fiddling with the computer panel that Tash had left behind, and she had produced a volume of Haruhi from nowhere and started reading. Emily had fallen asleep just after lunchtime, and apparently Aster had not moved from her spot.

"_I wonder if she'd notice if I got up and stretched my legs..."_ the ten year old thought, before deciding she had been in the bed too long, and pushing the covers back. She got slowly to her feet, shaking a little as she passed between the beds. She really wanted a shower, and for the first time in two days, she felt a little hungry.

"Emily," Valerie appeared through the doors, supporting Ben, who looked to have been jumped by his aggressive muse again – his shirt was ripped, and blood was streaming from teeth marks in his side. Emily pulled a face.

"You need a leash for that cliché stick," she told Ben firmly. The boy gave a pained wince.

"Are you alright?" Valerie asked. "Don't feel dizzy or anything?"

Emily shook her head. "If I do, I'll come back. I just want a little walk and maybe something light to eat."

Valerie nodded slowly. "Okay. Don't be too long."

The girl nodded and left the wing slowly as Valerie steered Ben toward a bed. There was a moment of silence, as Aster paused in her complaint against the defenceless book character, and glanced at the now empty bed upon which she was perched. She frowned in confusion.

"Emily-chan? Where did you go?"

OOO

"_Emily, have you seen my good baking tray?" Rhia asked, sticking her head into one of the Renaissance reading rooms, in which Emily was surveying her latest masterpiece – her take on Michelangelo's 'Creation of Adam'. Naturally, it was painted straight on the ceiling. Rhia didn't really want to ask how she had managed to set up scaffolding without anyone knowing._

"_Oooh..." Emily bit her lip. "I may have used it as a paint tray for the base coat of my fresco..."_

_Rhia closed her eyes slowly, and sighed. "Catalogue is on my kitchen table. Page 24. Item G."_

"_Expected in five working days," Emily finished, as Rhia exited the room._

OOO

"Emily...what are you doing out of bed?"

Emily, who had just left her room, showered and in a fresh pair of pyjamas, saw Adrian giving her a surprised look at the end of the corridor. She tilted her head, for the Librarian was carrying a toolkit in his hands, and he was sans his trench coat.

"Getting some food," the girl said, eyeing the toolkit. "What are you doing with that?" Her eyes went wide. "Oh! Did Tash tell you about her secret project? Is that why you have it?"

The Librarian looked more confused than ever. "Umm...no. What secret is this?"

Emily chewed her lip. "Ooops...I'm not supposed to say..."

"What secret?" Adrian asked, taking a step closer, his ears and tail perking up in readiness for a chase. Emily squeaked and started running in the opposite direction. From the hasty footsteps, the Librarian was not far behind.

"I'm not saying!"

"ADRIAN!"

Harriet's scream was enough to half them both in their tracks. The leader looked furious.

"She's ill for Gods sake! And you're chasing her around?! Have you no sense?!"

"But...I wasn't..." the Librarian cringed under Harriet's furious gaze. The leader took her charges hand, and led her away.

"Come on Em. Let's get you something light to eat..."

As she was led away, Emily couldn't resist turning around and sticking her tongue out at Adrian. The Librarian sighed.

"Insolent girl..." he muttered, before his ears perked up with realisation and he chuckled. "Guess she's feeling better..." Smirking to himself, he pulled out a folded up sheet of paper and flipped it up in the air before catching it. "And it's nice to see she's able to keep a secret…cause my dear lover can't keep our little artisan to herself…not when I've got a project of my own in the works..."

OOO

May Stardust fall in your dreams!


	13. Phoenixia: My Kind of Fun

These Are Our Moments Here

By Master of the Library

(And Guests)

A/N: _I'm warning you now...this one's got some quite racy stuff at the end._

Chapter 11: Phoenixia: My Kind of Fun

"But you said I could come with you!" Phoenixia was standing in Adrian's office, in front of his desk. Her hair was lavender and she was dressed in a sheer black, strapless dress that that threatened to fall off everytime she took a breath to pout, which, during this conversation, was quite often.

Adrian, who was busy packing what looked a picnic basket with food from his fridge, didn't pause in tossing a couple of lengths of French bread, a small ham and some cheese in it. "I know I said that, but things change, Phoenixia. We didn't realize that our next date would be on our six-month anniversary until just this morning. So we're going to spend some together by _ourselves_ to celebrate the fact they we're together and still alive."

"Six month anniversary?" She folded her arms across her impressive bustline. "That's not anything special! You dated that princess from that psychic-filled universe for two years!"

Adrian blushed at the memory of that particular lover. "That was nearly a hundred and fifty years ago and it got really screwy when she started to meld our minds together...how was I supposed to know that the females absorb the males into a hive-mind?" He shrugged it off and dropped a bag of sour-cream-and-onion chips into the basket and flipped the lid closed. "Anyway, you know it's different between Tash and I, Phoenixia."

"I know..." The hologram sighed in defeat and watched Adrian exit the room, plopping herself in his chair and kicking her heels up on the desk, leaning back as she ran her hands through her hair. "It's so boring around here..." In truth, even while she had been talking to Adrian, she had been scanning the Library computer's for viruses, updating the firewalls and adding the new books to the Library's online catalogs and a dozen other things, but doing things like that was to her what breathing was to people- instinctive and not requiring a miniscule of a fraction of one's attention.

Sighing again, she twiddled her thumbs as she thought about what she could do today. "What to do...what to do...what to do....what to do...."

Luckily for her, something to do came peeking cautiously around the corner of the door to Adrian's office. "Is he in?"

Phoenixia dropped her feet down and sat upright, seeing Chrys' dog-eared head poked around the edge of the doorframe. "Adrian? No, he's out with Tash right now...."

"Oh..." Chrys sighed. "It took forever to find this office and I was hoping to ask him how he keeps his tail from getting cramped in his clothes all the time. It can really start to hurt..."

The hologram grinned as she walked around the desk and towards the shy hanyou. "Well, I'm sure I've got some information about that in my databanks...why don't we talk about that while we have some fun...?" She grinned teasingly.

Chrys gulped.

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

"Oh, you're _so_ cute!" Phoenixia smiled and clapped her hands together, pleased at theresult standing before her.

Chrys spun on her heel and looked at herself in the three-way mirror, which let her see herself from all angles, blushing sheepishly. "Well, I do kinda feel more confident..."

The pair had spent the last hour or so trying on clothes (Read: Phoenixia forcing Chrys into whatever cute outfit she could find.) and currently, the hanyou was dressed like Adrian, with a sleek form-hugging bodysuit that surprisingly comfortable and easy to move in and a pink and sky-blue trenchcoat that Phoenixia had found 'lying around in the back of Adrian's closet, stuffed into a box and buried behind his shoes' and a pair of knee-high boots that elevated Chrys a few more inches, making her as tall as Phoenixia.

Smiling a bit, Chrys suddenly struck a pose, hand on her hip and her other hand in the 'V' sign and managed to fit a look of supreme confidence on her face. "_It's just cooler that way!"_ Then she broke down in a fit of giggles while Phoenixia nearly doubled over with laughter.

"Ah, child, that so amusing..." The hologram managed out after she regained herself, straightening and still chuckling a bit. "That was so him....if Adrian looked like a girl, then I swear he'd look just you do now!"

Chrys blushed and shifted a bit. "I don't really think so..."

"Of course he would, dear." Phoenixia waved Chrys' concern away. "And you look good like that and a lot less like jailbait..."

A whine emitted from the hanyou and her ears folded up as she blushed, hugging herself and shifting. "Mnnnyeh....!"

"Oh, relax." Phoenixia patted the hanyou on the head and grinned. Suddenly, a mischevious thought worked it's why into her head and she rubbed at the base of Chry's ears. The hanyou's eyes went wide before her face melted in a blissful expression. "Ha! Just like Adrian's!" Snickering, the older woman rubbed harder and Chry's expression became more blissful as she sighed happily, a dreamy smile on her face. It was quite amazing that her legs hadn't given out yet.

"Well, that's enough of that. I've got a sailor fuku I want you to try..." Phoenixia stopped petting her ears and turned to get the next outfit, but toppled over as Chrys clung to her leg, head rubbing against her thigh. "ACKIES!"

Landing with a thud, Phoenixia turned and glanced down at the hanyou hugging her leg, letting out contented sighs and nuzzling her." Right...forgot that they both do this..."Sighing, she reached down and started to pet Chrys' ears again. (_I'm gonna be here for awhile...)_

TTTTTTTTTTTTT

She dashed across clearing, light-machine gun clenched in her hands as she glanced left and right, moving as fast she could to minimize her exposure. She had won a couple of rounds, but her opponents were adapting to fighting her and it was getting harder to take them down, especially this late in the game when she only had so much ammo left and a pair of plasma grenades...

Gunfire sounded and kicked up dust at her feet and Phoenixa jumped the last few feet between her and her desitination, wincing as several violet Needler rounds impacted on her energy shield and lodged there before bursting apart, short bursts of gun fire following her path before thudding into the wall as she darted into a doorway.

Glancing behind her, she saw a pair to figures coming after her, a pair of SPARTANS dressed in MIJOLNIR armor, one colored the typical off-green of Master Chief and the other sporting a blue/white streak combo on his, both of them armed to the teeth.

Moving further inside the building, Phoenixia ditched her almost empty assault rifle and scooped up a plasma rifle. While the difference between the two weapons was not much, damage-wise, But the plasma rifle had full ammo and she needed all the help she could get. She wasn't dressed in MIJONIR armor, finding it too bulky and unattractive for taste, she was dressed in combat gear, including light body armor, belts for weapons and grenades and a eye-piece visor that was her HUD, (Heads-Up Display), showing her ammo status, what weapons she had with her and a radar that showed how close the others were to her.

Like, MIJOLNIR armor, Phoenixia's custom battle gear did produce an energy shield and for that she was thankful, as she had been ambushed on the last round by one of the other players and engaged them in melee combat and due to the MIJOLNIR armor's agumented strength, he would have taken her out if not for the shield, which had bought her enough time to escape.

The darkened building was lit up briefly as a hail of energy weapon shots zipped at her, some of them splashing on her shield. The raven-haired women fired a quick burst of return shots and moved quickly across the room and up the stairs. There was a door that lead to to a fire-escape. If she could get to it, she could outflank her pursuers and take them out. She rounded the corner of the hallway...

Only to see the blue/white SPARTAN waiting for her. She barely had time to curse as a fully-charged plasma pistol shot hit her and completely knocked down her shield and he opened up with the pistol in his other hand, her sight going red for a half-second everytime she was struck. Swearing to herself, Phoenixia ducked back around the corner and up the second flight of the stairs, her two pursuers right behind.

Stepping into a hallway, she moved halfway down it and turned to face the direction she had come, counting to herself before hurling one of her two remaining plasma grenades...just as the off-green SPARTAN rounded the corner.

The hallway was too closed in to effectively jump and avoid the grenade, but he tried anyway, the plasma grenade sticking to his chest plate and began to release little bits of plasma as it neared detonation. In a desperate attempt, he charged forwards in hopes that he'd get close enough that the detonation would take Phoenixia with him, but they both knew it was futile and the grenade exploded, toppling the SPARTAN to the ground and sending his weapons clattering to the ground.

As the second SPARTAN rounded the corner and opened fire with his two pistols, Phoenixia switched weapons, a energy sword snapping to life in her hand as she dashed forwards, weapons fire striking her weak recharging shield and sapping it's power, before she managed to close the distance and stab the blue/white SPARTAN, the blow killing him instantly.

Snatching up the Sniper Rilfe he had dropped, Phoenixia whirled, knelt, took a second to aim with the scope and fired a single shot, the heavy round zipping across the hallway, through the window at it's end and across the clearing, before slamming into the red/black SPARTAN's head, who had been standing on the cliff's edge and aiming for her with _his_ Sniper Rifle. Phoenixia's round dropped him instantly.

Grinning madly, Phoenixia stood up and struck a sexy victory pose, jets of sparks erupting behind her as she winked and the words 'EPIC WIN!' flashed in big letters above her head.

Doug, Drake and Christoph all stared at the image on the plasma TV screen mounted into the wall for a long moment, before Drake sighed in defeat. "Man, if we had gotten her that time, it would have made three..."

Christoph nodded in agreement. "It appears Lady Phoenixia's is a adept player. How she figured out where Lord Doug was is beyond me."

As she had heard his words, Phoenixia's image on the screen smirked. "_By the way, bright red armor on a brown cliff? Yeah, not exactly very hard to miss." _

Doug could feel his eyebrow twitching badly and he let out a low growl. "I'm an expert at these games and i"m being beaten by a hologram!"

"_Oh no, dear. You aren't getting beaten. You are getting PWND!" _

TTTTTTTTTT

"Hey, does the Power Coupling does this go to the Weapons or the Transformation System?" Emily's head poked up over the edge of the floor compartment, holding a metal device up for Phoenixia to see.

"Huh?" Phoenixia was seated at the pilot's seat, taping away on the keys as she ran checks on the Phoenix Zord's computer systems. While she could do without actually being physically present, it scared Emily bit when the ten-year old was talking to a disembodied voice or Phoenixia just sat there and stared off into space, so the sentient computer program was doing it by hand. "Oh, that one goes to the Shields, dear. It's the green set of wires."

"Kay, thanks." Emily ducked back into the compartment and a few seconds later, Phoenixia could hear the sounds of clanging and metal on metal could be heard, Emily's hand appearing and patting around the compartment to grab whatever tool she needed at the moment.

Phoenixia tapped in key combination and grinned in success as the comscreen on the console sprang to life, flickering a bit before showing the image on the Library's security cams. "Yes!"

Several decades ago, Adrain had taken the time to remodel several of the Library's rooms into something other than shelves or reading rooms, because looking at books all the time would drive him mad. Of course, only he really know the location of these changed rooms, since the Library was constantly shifting rooms around. And one of them happened to be a hot spring room, where Phoenixia knew that Adrian was taking Tash for their date.

Currently, the camera showed that the pair of lovers were seated on a picnic blanket, the remmants of their meal set to the side. They were talking and then Tash leaned over and kissed Adrian, pushing him onto his back. Adrian kissed her back and and the couple rolled towards the hot spring, tugging at each other's shirts, with Adrian just slicing Tash's off with his claws.

Grinning to herself, Phoenixia leaned back into her chair and killed the sound. (So as not to corrupt young ears.) Adrian and Tash may not make love as frequently as some of the Agents might expect, but Phoenixia knew that when they did do so, it was a show most definitely worth watching. And thanks to the security cams everywhere, she always got a front row seat.

By now, the couple had landed in the spring, having lost their shirts, pants and a sock apiece. Adrian cuddled Tash close to him and after a few seconds, her bra joined the pile clothes on the edge of the pool. Then he started kissing down her neck and Tash shivered, tilting her head back to give him better access.

Phoenixia settled herself more comfortably into the chair and got ready to watch the show, only for the camera image to flash purple and then turn to static. It took her a moment to realize that Adrian had destroyed the camera by throwing his sword into it. (_That's not fair!)_

"Hey, Phoenixia...." Emily clambered out of the compartment, her overalls smudged with grease, dirt and various liquids and fluids. "Can I ask you something?"

"You already did, but I know what you mean, so ask away." Phoenixia replied, mentally sighing in frustration at the lost of her entertainment. Swiveling the chair around to face the young Emily, her crimson/green-streak hair dancing with the motion, she crossed her arms over her work overalls. (For Emily's sake, she wore a shirt underneath them and made sure nothing indecent was showing at all.) "I'm an open book, kiddo."

"Well..." Emily pocked her spanner and pulled out a rag, wiping the grease and stuff off her hands as she spoke. "How come you're always being so sexy and trying to sleep with everyone? Don't you have a boyfriend or something?"

Phoenixia smiled gently at her. "I'm not an actual person, remember. I'm a computer program and my form is a holographic one. So I do not age. And it'd be too heartbreaking to get into a relationship, because my partner would age and I wouldn't. And I'm sexy and seductive because I find it fun- it's just who I am. And..." She smiled wryly. "For the record, I don't sleep with everyone. I don't go after the married, engaged or anything like that and I am kinda picky about who I sleep with, dear one."

"Oh..." Emily nodded and was quiet for a moment as she finished wiping her hands clean. "Then...if you don't fall in love because your boyfriend will age and you won't, then why did Adrian fall in love with Tash? Won't the same thing happen to him?"

The question surprised Phoenixia a bit. "You're awfully perceptive for a ten year-old, Emily....yes, that will happen. Adrian is immortal, so he cannot age. Tash....is not immortal."

"So if he knew he was going to get hurt in the end, why did he fall in love?"

Phoenixia chuckled a bit." Dear one, you do not 'choose' to fall in love, it simply happens. And yes, sometimes, it doesn't work out how you want and it can very, very painful. But love is also full of wonderful, beautiful moments, too and those can make the pain bearable."

"But Adrian is the Librarian, right? And he's been around for a really long time and knows a lot of stuff, so he can make Tash immortal, right?" Emily asked suddenly, looking at Phoenixia a bit eagerly.

The older woman frowned a bit. While it was true Adrain and she had been researching methods to make Tash immortal, many of them were too dangerous or costly and all of them carried the heavy price of being forced to watch your loved ones die while you did and Adrian have finally stopped researching, refusing to submit Tash to the kind of life he had. "Well, it's possible in theory, but he hasn't been able to make it real yet...why do you ask, dear one?"

"Well...." Emily looked down at the floor, drawing a little circle on the floor with her foot. "It's just that, I thought if he could make Tash immortal, then he could make me un-immortal

....my sisters said we don't age after twenty and we can live forever....and I've seen what they tried to do.." Her head snapped up, worry and fear in her eyes. "I don't want to be like that! I don't want to grow up and control people and live forever and be hated and..and..and..." Then she burst into tears, sobbing.

"Oh, dear one.." Phoenixia reached out and scooped up the sobbing child in her arms, cuddling her to her lap. "Shhh...it's okay, it's okay, Emily..." Stroking the girl's hair, she gave her a quick kiss to the forehead. "You're not going to end up like that. I know you're not."

Emily sniffled and hugged Phoenixia. "How do you know...?"

"Because..." Phoenixia rubbed Emily's back soothingly. "You aren't your sisters, dear one. Just because they turned out the way they did, doesn't mean you will. And with people like Hati and Tash and Adrian and the rest of the Society taking such good care of you, you definitely won't. You might be a bit crazy and go on roaring rampages of PMS, but you'll be just fine."

Emily laughed a little before her face got sad again. "But I'm a Sue...and when I grow up, I'll change...."

"Ah, ah ah!" Phoenixia pressed a finger to the girl's lips to silence her. "Listen to me well, dear one. Your powers as a 'Sue' are just that- your powers. When you develop them, you are the only one who gets to decide what you do with them. Your siblings chose to be Sue and Stus and conquer things because they didn't have any guidance and thought their powers made them better than everyone else. They don't, it just means you are simply different than everyone else. After all, does Adrian being Librarian make him better than Tash? Or Hati?"

"No, it just means that he can do things that they can't and they can do things he can't."

"Just right!" Phoenixia grinned and tapped Emily on the nose with a finger. "And when you get your powers, you'll be able to things others can't. But you're not going to go around conquering fandoms and being a bad little girl, because you've got so many good people to show you the right way. So no more tears, okay?"

Emily smiled back and nodded a bit. "Okay...thanks, Phoenixia." She suddenly gave Phoenixia a pair of wonderful puppy dog eyes. "Will you sing for me while I work some more? Pleeeeease?"

The older woman laughed. "You've certainly been practicing those, haven't you? Alright, alright. I'll sing. Just don't let this get out, kay?" She gave Emily a secretive wink. "I've got a reputation to keep."

"Don't worry, it's safe with me." Emily slid off Phoenixia's lap and darted back to the compartment as Phoenixia changed into a ball grown and her hair became auburn curls.

"_Hush, little child, don't fear the lighting......listen to my voice and all your troubles will fade away.....smiles more precious than gold...."_

TTTTTTTTTT

Beth glanced around the room to make sure it was empty, then continued typing away the computer console to the Blacklist. "Putting Torchwood on the Blacklist won't stop seeing me from my precious Jack, Tashy!" Smiling evily to herself, she continued typing rapidly. "All I got to do is hack through the firewall...."

Just then the computer beeped and an message flashed up on the screen.

"CONGRATS! YOU HAVE JUST SUCCESSFULY HACKED 5% OF THE FIREWALL AND IT ONLY TOOK YOU 3 HOURS! YOU HAVE JUST WON A FREE NIGHT WITH PHOENIXIA! BUT YOU ARE NOT GETTING INTO THE BLACKLIST!

Beth stared at the computer. "What the..."

Then a second message appeared on the screen.

"BY THE WAY, I WILL BE ON TOP!"

There was a long moment as Beth debated what to do...

Then she started typing again. "Maybe if I hack more, she'll let me be on top."

TTTTTTTTTT

_Later the night_

Harriett, Jess, Ossa, and Aimee were all sitting in one of the reading rooms, the Society's founder sprawled across the couch with a bowl of popcorn on her belly, her feet in Jess's lap. Aimee was seated in an armchair and Ossa was leaning against her legs.

The Native American Agent stretched a bit. "So what are we watching again....?"

"_Rurouni Kenshin."_ Jess replied. "Adrian lent to me, said it was really good." She snatched a few kernels of popcorn from the bowl and popped them her mouth.

Hati tried to shot a mock glare at her, but couldn't muster the energy and munched on some popcorn instead. "Tash says it is and she's got good taste....She is British, after all."

The other girls nodded, as the fact that British girls are always have good taste and ideas was a universal law- no matter what universe they were in, even as Aimee grabbed the DVD player remote and pressed the 'Play' button.

All four of them watched as the opening credits and music began to play and then blinked in surprise as the screen suddenly became filled with static before settling and resolving into Phoenixia's grinning face. And she was grinning like a fox that had just cornered a chicken.

_'Hi. Good evening, ladies. Well, I'm only here for minute. You see, my dear Adrian and Tash has slighted me and since I am a firm believer in absolute revenge, enjoy yourselves! And I wouldn't be amiss to a visit afterwards, either!' _Then she winked at them and was gone, an image popping up on the screen.

The four of them blinked at one another before their jaws dropping slightly and their eyes widening in surprise as a series of sharp moans and harsh breathing came out of the speakers.

"_Oh...oh...oh...yes! Yes, so good, hot kitty sex...so damn good!! Give me more, kitty! More!" _

The four girls' eyes widened even further as they realizes who it was. "Adrian...._and_ _Tash!?"_

Indeed it was. The blond-haired Society leader was sprawled on a bed, her white-haired lover on top. The camera gave a wonderful side view of things and both of their naked bodies covered in sweet and Tash's body as well as Adrian's back where covered in what looked scratch marks. Both were panting and moaning and looking very, very happy.

"_So good....you feel so good, love...always so good." _Adrian's voice was a bit muffled as he raked his claws down her sides and legs.

"_Just for you, Master....only you...I want more, Master...so much more!" _Tash moaned and panted and writhed a bit, her breath coming in sharp gasps._"I'm yours! All yours. I'm your pleasure slave, I'm your-" _Then she was cut off as she arched her back so much that the the four viewers thought it was going to snap, her face twisted in pleasure as she let loose a high scream. _"Oh GOD!"_

Ossa stared at the screen. "Holy crap...Tash is tied up...with _my chains!_ She's into bondage!"

Harriet's eyes were no less wide than anyone else's, but they were fixed on another part of Tash's body as the bound-up Leader moved with her lover in the throes of passion. "_Holy shit..._talking to your boobs does make them grow! She's _huge!"_

Aimee and Jess were also staring, though they were more focused on the sweating,moaning kitty Librarian, with his well-defined muscles covered in sweat. _"_She's not the only one that's huge...."

Adrian stepped into the doorway, Tash a few seconds behind him. "We heard noises, is everything alright...?" Then his eyes went very wide and he gulped as he saw what on the TV screen, letting out a word in a language no one understand, but grasped that it was a curse word.

Tash just went very pale and somehow bright red at the same time. _"....Bollocks..."_

All four of the viewing girl's heads snapped over to see the two Leaders in the doorway (meanwhile, on the screen, the recorded Adrian and Tash had switched positions and there was a lot of sucking noises)....and then all four of them got sly grins on their faces.

"Damn...damn...damn...." Adrian muttered to himself and shifted embarassedly, whispering out of the corner of his mouth. "Why are they looking at us like that..?"

Tash, still doing her pale-white/fire-engine red trick, merely gulped. "I told you we should have taken Phoenixia along...."

"_What!?_ You're the one who insisted we leave her behind! It was a _date_, after all!"

"_You're the one who disabled the cameras in the room!"_

"Oh, Tashy...." Hati's singsong voice interrupted the lover's argument and they both turned to see the four girls had slid out of their seats and where working their ways towards the pair. "You didn't tell me you got that big...I think I'm jealous..."

"I really didn't that big, Hati..." Tash replied nervously, taking a few steps backwards the door as Adrian did the same, neither of them liking the look in the four advancing girl's eyes. "It..was just a spell Adrian found....just a spell.."

"Then you'll have to teach me that one." Hati grinned naughtily. "From the way you screaming, it looks like it was a lot of fun..."

"I don't think Adrian used a spell, though..." Ossa smirked, in a way that was impossible to mistake for innocent and pointed at Adrian. "In fact, I'm definitely sure he didn't.."

Adrian blushed more heavily and pulled his trenchcoat around himself as Tash managed to shoot him a glare. _"Don't look at me like that..._hearing you moan always make me hot...."

Jess shucked off her jacket. "Come on....we want the hot kitty sex...." The other three girls nodded in agreement.

Tash clung to Adrian's arm possessively. "No! That hot kitty sex is _mine! All mine!" _She paused and looked thoughtful for a moment._ "_Well...Phoenixia gets some on the weekends if I'm around..._" _Then she clung to him again._"_But otherwise, he's _my_ hot kitty sex machine!"

"I don't think they're gonna take no for an answer..." Tash yelped as Adrian grabbed her, tucked her under his arm and dashed down the hallway, all four girls in hot pursuit.

"We can learn to share, Tashy!" Hati yelled after the pair. "It's not like we haven't felt each other up before!"

TTTTTTTTTT

Phoenixa watched the chase from the monitor on Adrian's desk, leaning back and smirking. "You should know by now, Adrian....getting revenge is my kind of fun....hehehehehe..."

TTTTTTTTTT


	14. Doug: OffDuty

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library  
(And Guests)

A/N: _This one is waaaayy late,. I'm sorry. Blame school and reality. They're rather tough to deal with right now. Also, anyone who has not submitted an entry, please do so. I've know we've got more Agents than 13!_

Chapter 14: Doug- OffDuty

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the ACMSES characters, although Doug and Rina belongs to me. Author's note: Doug considers himself being off-duty when he's not on a mission. Wonder what he could be doing? Here's one of those times……

TTTTTTTTTTT

Doug had been lying on the hospital bed for 20 minutes since the co-op mission with Drake and the others in the Crash Bandicoot fandom. The fight with the Super-Sue had drained all his energy and enough blood to almost drive him berserk. He had been hooked up on the IV just to replenish his blood supply, and Valerie came to check up on him.

"How do you feel?" asked Valerie.

"I feel quite well. Thank you," replied Doug. Valerie looked through the test sheets.

"You know, the Library have little blood supplies before you came here. Ever since you came, your author had been sending blood supplies into the Library," commented Valerie, pulling out the needle from Doug's arm and taking out the empty blood pack.

"Yeah……even though being a halfling means I'm immortal and a knife through the heart won't kill me, I'm still dependent on extra blood," replied Doug, thinking back on the mission when he protected Aster from a knife thrown by the Stu at the fandom. Valerie nodded.

"Well, your recovery went well for a halfling. Your broken bones have mended by itself and blood capillaries are sealing up," said Valerie, looking through an X-ray and signing off a got up and stood next to Valerie.

"Just sign here," said Valerie, handing Doug a pen to sign on the discharge form. Doug signed it and gave the pen back to Valerie.

"Thank you. You've been discharged," said Valerie before going to her next patient. Doug walked out of the medical wing and headed to the labs.

TTTTTTTTTTT

Doug was walking through the corridors of the Society when he caught a rare sight. Charis, Karissa's elder sister and Society technician, was walking about the Library. Doug raced up and caught up with her.

"Hello, Charis. You're a rare sight,' greeted Doug.

"Hi Doug. What's up?" greeted Charis.

"The Library's ceiling," replied Doug.

"Huh?" asked Charis, who didn't catch on the joke.

"Never mind. Actually, I was looking for you. There's this gadget that had been going in my head for a while and I need your expertise on it," said Doug. Charis nodded and listened. "It's about combining a Bookmark and a Plothole Generator……"continued Doug as they both walked to the end of the corridor, disappearing at a corner. Suddenly, the Library rocked, followed by Adrian yelling out.

"ASTER!" echoed Adrian's voice. "Kyaa~!" replied Aster.

TTTTTTTTTTT I

n the encyclopaedia section, the door with the word 'Guardian' inscribed on its side, opened. Out came Rina, the twin sister of Doug. She had long brunette hair that reached her waists, and she was wearing a pink jumper and a dark olive skirt with knee-length black boots. She was carrying a thermos flask with a fork and spoon attached to it. She headed to the Society labs where one of them was her brother's Chemistry lab. She knocked on the door and went in.

In the lab, Doug and Karissa were wearing safety goggles, writing down observations of the interaction between the Bookmark and the Plothole Generator.

"Been busy, bruder?" asked Rina, setting the thermos on the flask. Doug stopped working and took off his safety goggles.

"Ah, Rina. Nice to see you," said Doug, going to her. They both hugged and kissed each others' cheeks before Doug kissed her on the forehead.

"I brought in your favourite," said Rina reaching for the thermos. She opened it and it showed rice with roast pork. Doug took the spoon and fork and started taking portions of the meal into a plastic plate. He began eating the meal while Charis watches. Rina looked at Charis and offered.

"Do you want some?" asked Rina.

"No thanks. I already had my lunch," replied Charis. Rina nodded and headed to the door.

"Bruder, I'll be leaving now. Maddie sends her love," said Rina. Doug swallowed a mouthful and replied.

"Tell her I love her too. I'll be back on Sunday," said Doug before taking another mouthful. Rina left and closed the door.

Charis began tweaking the Society experimental gadget before making a statement.

"Doug, I didn't know you had a girlfriend," stated Charis. "Well, she wasn't until she reappeared after five years from the belly of my author's cryogenic storage. She started off as a colleague, as and until recently more than that," explained Doug.

"Kudos to you, Doug," said Charis before she began tweaking the gadget again.

Doug continued eating.

TTTTTTTTTTT

Doug was in a forest. He was in a ghillie suit, with an M21 Supressend sniper rifle and a Steyr AUG rifle on his back. He had been lying on the ground for quite a while, seemingly waiting for someone or something to be his next target. He saw some leaves move, and he took a shot. Something that was invisible to the naked eye became visible with paint streaks on its invisible body. The body moved quickly, and shurikens came out of nowhere. Doug quickly rolled to avoid the shurikens, but that left himself exposed. He quickly switched his weapons and made a run for it, with darts striking the ground behind him.

"I hate it when I become the hunted," thought Doug as he ran for dear life. He then stopped and turned around, but the body was not to be found. Then the paint streak caught his attention. He quickly fired a few shots, but missed the body. The body shot a few darts and a few managed to hit Doug. Doug took cover behind a tree and activated the heartbeat sensor device on his rifle. He quickly followed the dot that appeared on the screen, firing accurate shots at the body. The body then landed on the ground, phasing out of its camouflage. It was Cristoph. Cristoph drew out his ninjato and rushed towards Doug, dodging every shot. Doug, feeling that Cristoph was getting too close, dropped the rifle and drew out his sword. They both clashed, trying to make the other submit. Doug was losing the swordfight, so he quickly took a flashbang grenade and dropped it to the ground. The flashbang burst, blinding Cristoph and giving a chance for Doug to escape. He fired a grappling hook up to the forest canopy then rappel himself up and hid within the branches. He took his sniper rifle out and fired a shot. Before the bullet could reach Cristoph, Cristoph threw a smoke bomb, making himself disappear.

"What the-?" exclaimed Doug before he felt an arm wrap around his neck and choking him. Doug tried to pull it off but the arm was firmly in place.

"Okay, you win," gasped Doug between breaths. The arm loosened and the forest turned into a training room. Cristoph let go of Doug and patted him on his back.

"I'm still better than you at long range," commented Doug.

"And you still need work on your short range attacks," replied Cristoph. They both let out a laugh as they left the training room.

TTTTTTTTTTT

Doug headed to the encyclopaedia section to the door. He took his pen-shaped key and inserted it into the keyhole. The door opened and he entered it. Doug reappeared on a beach, where the sun was setting and there was a beach chair facing the sunset.

Maddie was on the beach chair with a two-piece bikini and sunglasses on. She waved her hand to Doug, calling him to come. Doug approached her and gave her a kiss on the lips.

"Hello love," said Doug.

"You're just in time for the sunset. Watch it with me," said Maddie. Doug got on the beach chair and hugged his lover, observing the horizon as the sun sank.

TTTTTTTTTTT

Author's note: Who says that original characters can't have a normal life? This fic happens in between Drake's Insert Evil Genetic Experiment Here and a future fic that features Doug in it, so Doug will be off-duty for a while before the future mission rolls along.


	15. Jared: Trouble With Tribbles

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library

And Guests

Jared: Trouble With Tribbles

Jared was not particularly thrilled; he had just been informed the day before Christmas that he was Chloe's secret Santa, and he had been traveling transdimensional space for hours searching for the perfect gift. Currently, he was in the Star Trek The Original Series fandom, sitting at a bar on deep space station K7, pausing from his quest for the perfect gift to have a little lunch. He was enjoying a particularly good chicken sandwich and a coffee when a jovial man with greasy black hair in a large fur coat walked up and sat down beside him.

"Excuse me sir, my name is Cyrano Jones, would you be interested in purchasing a tribble?" asked the man, pulling a strange, round creature covered in soft brown fur out of his coat, Jared thought it looked like a powder puff.

Jared took the creature from the man; it instantly began to make a soft trilling noise as Jared began to pet it.

This would be a perfect gift for Chloe! thought Jared, She loves soft and furry creatures.

"How much?" Jared asked the man.

-----------

The next day...

Jared was enjoying the Christmas party immensely. When everybody was passing out their secret Santa gifts Jared presented his gift to Chloe. To his surprise, when he lifted the drape over the cage he had put the tribble in, he noticed that there were now half a dozen of the furry critters in the cage.

"Oh, they're so cute! Thank you Jared, I'll cherish them all!" Chloe said, acting uncharacteristically girly.

"B-but, I only got you one!" Jared started to say, but she had already run off to show the other agents what Jared had gotten her.

"I must be imagining things, I wonder if this punch has any alcohol content." Jared said, examining his glass. "Oh well, I'm gonna get in line for karaoke."

--------------

The next morning...

Several agents were standing around the kitchen table, which was now currently occupied by two dozen tribbles of various shades of gray, brown or white, they were munching happily away at some cookies Jared had swiped. Most of the people there had a tribble in their arms and were either cuddling or petting the creatures.

"Those were my cookies..." Jared said mournfully over the sound of the tribbles' soothing trills.

"Kyaa~ where did they all come from?" asked Aster.

"I don't know; I went to bed, and when I woke up the cage was practically overflowing!" said Chloe.

Valerie, the society's empathic healer, walked up to the table. "Do you mind if I take a look at one of those Chloe? I'd like to study it."

"Okay, but only if you promise not to hurt it," said Chloe.

"I won't hurt a hair on its furry little head, wherever that is," said Valerie, and with that she picked one up and retired to examine it.

"Seeing as you're giving them away, mind if I have one?" Karissa asked.

"By all means take one; you don't honestly think I could take care of this many do you?" Chloe replied.

So one by one, agents began to take the furry little creatures.

"I love it, it's so cute!" Chrys said, sending up desu sparkles all around her.

"Finally: a pet that likes stolen cookies as much as I do!" said Tyler as he, toting his tribble, disappeared to swipe more unattended confectionery.

And within 10 minutes, all the tribbles had gone away with their new owners.

-------------

Later that day...

Aster was grossly absorbed in the manga she was reading, so much so she didn't even seem to notice the tribble purring on top of her head, or the 3 on her shoulders, or the 6 in her lap...

"THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!" shouted Emotion Marcus from somewhere in the Library.

"I-I-I t-t-think they're in th-the ventilation," said Thought Marcus.

Tash walked up to Jared. "Jared, I don't suppose you have a plan to take care of all of these tribbles? They seem to be multiplying well beyond our capacity to contain."

Jared looked up from his blueprints. "I'm working on it! I'm working on it!"

Tash sighed. "Well, we have a new Sue on the loose; could you take a break from your engineering and go after her for a moment?"

"Sure, just let me go find Chloe." Jared said, and then he ran off.

Tash turned around and accidentally stepped on a tribble. It gave a sharp squeak.

"Oh I'm sorry little fellow." A sigh escaped her lips. "What are we going to do about all these tribbles?" she said as she picked it up.

Adrian came storming through the commons area, a bundle of tribbles in his arms. His ears were flat against his head and his tail swished side-to-side in anger. "I want these tribbles out of my Library! I don't care if it takes every agent we've got; I want them gone!"

"What's wrong love?" asked Tash.

"It's these tribbles! They're getting past my booby traps! They've eaten more sweets in a day than Tyler and Drake do in a month!"

----------

Jared and Chloe had suited up for their mission. The Sue was only a level 4; it was going to be a piece of cake as it seemed as if the Sue was rather dumb. The duo got in Chevila and Jared turned the key in the ignition, but nothing happened.

Hmmmm, I just serviced Chevila, why would she not start? Jared thought.

Jared tried turning the keys again but still nothing happened.

"Dang it, let me go check beneath the hood." Jared said, pulling the hood release lever.

Jared lifted the hood only to find a whole family of tribbles crawling all over Chevila's engine components, chewing through all of the electrical wiring that powered the truck's Society gadgets and electrical equipment."

He sighed. "I guess we'll just have to use your plothole generator for this mission."

Jared and Chloe returned from their successful mission and were leading their prisoner to the basement, careful to avoid stepping on any tribbles. While they were gone, the Library's rapidly growing tribble population had more than doubled.

"Why are you doing this? I only wanted to make the world a bit more perfect!" whined the Sue.

"Because you Sues are like tribbles; if we leave you alone long enough, you'll multiply." Jared said, throwing her in a cell.

The Sue landed by the tribble already occupying the cell. It shook violently and let out a high pitched trill. Chloe ran in and picked up the creature.

"It appears they don't like Mary Sues," said Chloe as she closed the cell doors behind her.

"But Cyrano Jones told me that tribbles like everybody..."

"Get that thing away from me!" shrieked the sue.

------------

Jared was carrying a toolbox back to his lab to repair Chevila when a loud shout sounded from Doug's chemistry lab. "Get these thrilling hell spawn out of my lab right now!"

"I guess they don't like halflings either," Jared said.

Then an exasperated Charis came running out of her lab, burdened with a large load of tribbles.

"They're in the machinery, alright; they're definitely traveling through the vents," his fellow techie said as she passed.

Chloe turned to Jared. "Aren't there vents like that in Rhia's kitchen?"

---------

Rhia was wheeling around her kitchen - being in a wheelchair didn't really phase her passion for cooking, and she was looking forward to making some dinner for herself - when she opened a cabinet and a mass of tribbles began pouring out into her lap.

"Tribbles!" was all she managed to shout as the tribble pile began pouring out on the floor and piling up to her waist.

Jared and Chloe, despite the warning on the door, barged in to warn Rhia about the potential danger to her kitchen.

Rhia glared at Jared, looking as threatening as one half buried in fuzzy puff balls can be. "You get these tribbles out of my kitchen right now!" she said as the tribble pile finally stopped at her shoulders. The cabinet they had fallen out of was now completely empty of both tribbles and groceries.

"They appear to be gorged." Chloe said, lifting up a tribble.

"Gorged! In my kitchen! Jared, I hope you know the cost of the groceries they've eaten is going to come out of your tech budget." Rhia said.

Valerie stuck her head through the doorway, burdened with another armful of tribbles.

"Jared, I don't think you grasp exactly what you've done; from what I've found out, it appears that tribbles are born pregnant," she said.

"Sounds like quite the time saver," Jared quipped. Chloe rolled her eyes.

Valerie was not amused, she shot Jared a look. "Most of the tribble's metabolism is geared towards reproduction; do you know what you get when you feed a tribble too much?"

"A fat tribble?"

"No, you get a bunch of hungry little tribbles."

"Well, Valerie, all I can suggest is that you open up a maternity ward."

Tyler was ducking and diving past all of Adrian's traps, swinging axes... tripwires... hidden trapdoors... until at last! A great pedestal of chocolate stood before him... except for the fact that instead of the chocolate that should have been there, there was a bunch of happily trilling little tribbles.

"What?! They beat me to it? I don't like these things anymore."

Jared and Chloe walked by him, they had to find some way of dealing with the tribbles; Adrian was running out of patience.

"There must be thousands of them by now!" Jared said.

"1,771,561 to be precise." Came Phoenixia's voice over Jared's communicator.

Jared paused, stunned.

"That's assuming one tribble, multiplying with an average litter of 10, producing a new generation every 12 hours over a period of three days," she added.

"Show off," Jared mumbled.

------

Adrian stormed into Jared's lab. He wanted these tribbles out of his library and he was going to make sure it got done! To his surprise, there wasn't a tribble in sight. Instead Jared, Chloe, Ben and Shirley were sitting around a large television playing Jared's Nintendo Wii.

Adrian walked in front of the TV.

"Where are all the tribbles?" he asked.

"Uh, you'll have to ask Chloe; it was her idea," Jared said.

"Chloe, what did you do with all the tribbles?"

"Erm, it was Ben who actually carried out the process," Chloe said.

"Ben! You didn't nuke them, did you?"

"Certainly not; I have a heart you know," Ben said.

"No you don't; I tore it out a long time ago!" said Shirley.

"Besides, Jared is the one who built the device."

Adrian looked frustrated. "As much as I hate to break up this group shifting of blame, would somebody please tell me where are the tribbles?"

"Uh, I designed a large scale plothole generator, sir." Jared said.

Ben began to speak, "And I used it to transport the whole kit'n kaboodle back to the Star Trek fandom, sir, where they'll be no tribble at all." And with that Shirley screamed something about recycling dialog and proceeded to beat Ben with her Wiimote.

"I don't see any use for it, so I plan on dismantling it for parts now that the tribbles are gone," Jared said, then he noticed Ben and Shirley.

"Shirley no! You aren't wearing your wrist strap!"

--------

Jared was hunched over his desk, filling out various forms and pledges promising he wouldn't bring anymore animals into the library without permission; he finished one and reached for another off of the top of his stack. Was it just him or did the stack seem actually taller? Jared sighed, the one thing in existence more prolific than tribbles... was Society paper work.

---------

A/N: If you haven't watched the Star Trek episode, "The Trouble with Tribbles" before reading this, I suggest you do it now.


	16. Monika: Secrets

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library

And Guests

Monika: Secrets

_AN: This is Monika's entry, written by me, Val. It's also the first 1st person POV we've had for the Society, I believe. Though, in my professional (lol) oppinion, anything other than 3rd person should be restricted to things like Moments, things that are just characterization without a real plotline to follow_.

TTTTTT

"Hey, Mon," Valerie says as she sits down across from me for breakfast. "How have you been?"

I repress a sigh. This is going to be one of _those_ times, I can already tell. Val thinks she's being subtle, but the way she's looking cautiously at me, like one wrong move would frighten me away, is plain as the nose on her face. "Pretty good," I say. "You?"

She simply nods in reply, and we both eat in silence.

It's not long before it starts.

"So I had this really _weird_ dream last night," she begins animatedly, and launches into a long, winding tale about high school hallways and exploding gas stations and two types of wolves. She's watching me carefully as she talks, and I can't keep my shoulders from sagging a fraction. _Definitely_ one of those times.

I don't know why she does this, I honestly don't. I know she expects something from me, but it's like she's afraid to even ask. What could she possibly be thinking that would make her act so... apprehensive?

What secrets are she hiding from me?

She's looking at me now, and I know I'm expected to join in the conversation with a dream of my own. Problem is, I didn't have _any_ dreams last night. I haven't had a single dream in... I don't know how long. Is that what she wants? Does she want me to dream? Yeah, there's a metaphorical significance to that that I might expect from her, but I don't think she literally expects me to have interesting dreams. Valerie is a lot of things, but absurd isn't one of them. Most of the time she's not impractical either. Me having dreams serves no purpose, so why does she seem to expect it of me?

Not wanting to be silent long enough for her to suspect my internal dialogue, I casually spoon my cereal into my mouth and do what I always do in these situations: tell the truth.

"I didn't have any dreams last night."

This time it's Valerie's shoulders that sag, much more noticibly than mine. I consider finally asking her what is so freaking important about my dreams, but I decide I'd rather eat my breakfast in peace.

And I'd much rather keep all my friendships intact.

TTTTTT

"Hmm... Okay, _this_ time, imagine it like you're pouring your conciousness out of a pitcher in your head, down through your body, and deep underground. Try that."

Adrian stands in front of me, watching me intently with his eyes and his mind as I try to follow his instructions. The thought of the mind as water is easy enough for me to grasp, though forming the image of a pitcher is slightly less so. Finally I manage something workable, and I begin to imagine the thing slowly tilting...

A sudden wave of nausia hits me as my mind seems to slosh with the imaginary liquid, but I push forward anyway. The nausia intensifies as the water comes closer and closer to the lip of the pitcher, and when it finally spills over...

"Oh - That is _very_ unpleasant!" I gag as a _horrible_ taste fills my mouth, completely breaking my concentration. I can't take it anymore - I jog out of the training room, fighting the urge to vomit. Valerie, who was watching from the corner, makes to follow me, but Adrian grabs her by the shoulder and holds her back. I send a silent thank you to Adrian as I sprint for the nearest bathroom - Valerie's habitual concern, while touching, can get annoying sometimes. Particularly when all I really want right now is privacy.

I don't actually throw up, but it's a while before the final urge passes, and I try various ways to get the nasty taste out of my mouth - finally coming to some success with my toothbrush and some really strong minty toothpaste. I make a brief hair-and-face check to make sure everything looks normal. I look a little bit pale, even for me, but I just pinch my cheeks a little to bring some color to them. Hopefully no one'll notice.

When I get back to tell them both that I'm fine, I hear talking on the other side of the door, so I stop to listen.

"...can't keep trying to force this on her. Either she'll get it back or she won't."

"She can't even _ground_, Adrian! What happened to her that she can't even manage the simplest of meditation exercises?"

"You've tried jogging her memory, you've tried re-training her... You've done everything you can possibly do. If it's still not working, maybe it's just not meant to. Some people _do_ grow out of their powers-"

"Not her," she interrupts fiercely.

They're both silent for a moment, but it's Valerie who speaks again first. "You found something, didn't you." It's not a question.

I can't see them, but Adrian is quiet a moment longer, and when he does speak, he sounds very uncomfortable. "There's... a sort of blockage in her channels that keeps all but the barest trickle of power behind it. If she tries anything stronger than her persuasion gift, even that trickle will clog up and everything will recoil on her."

"...And her memories?"

"That, I honestly don't know."

I hear the sound of footsteps, and I make a dash for my room.

TTTTTT

There's something wrong with me.

I'm... _broken_ somehow.

I try to look inside myself to find what's wrong, the way I've seen Valerie do, but there's nothing. Aside from my own knowledge of my body and mind, I don't sense any particular blockage or flow or... or _anything_. There's not even a sense of a void, just... blank. I simply. Sense. _Nothing_.

For the first time, I wonder why that is. Why is it that even the simplest of agents have some sort of sense of their inner selves, their connections with others, the shape of their minds, their _soul?_ Even _Tyler_ can perform basic meditation; I can't even manage to ground myself without being sick!

_RE-training?_

The thought hits me out of nowhere, and so do its implications. _Re_-training? As in, I _used_ to be able to do it?

The blank shifts.

I almost don't notice the way it sort of _shudders_ for a moment, but it happens. I press my eyes shut and concentrate as hard as I can - there's something on the other side of that blank that's immensely important...

_Fear..._

_Stench..._

_Mangled bodies laid out by their thousands in neat little rows..._

_So much blood..._

_Fear..._

_Fear!_

_"NO!!"_

Without thinking, I _shove_ away, and whiteness overtakes me.

TTTTTT

Dinner is a raucous affair, as usual, although only the American agents are ever even awake at this hour. It's times like these when I'm glad the bedroom commons aren't (usually) very close to the kitchens in the Library, particularly since Harriet was once again on PMS. I suddenly get a mental image of a tired, PMS-ing Harriet as she tries to bark orders through her sleepy haze, and giggle.

Terrie is on monitor duty for the evening, so I don't get the chance to have my evening debate/spat with her. Probably a good thing, since she's likely still sulking from the last verbal defeat I handed her. Hehe. But I look around for the others on my team, finally spot Valerie, and wave her over.

"Do you know where Stacey and Danielle are?" I ask as she sits down with her plate.

"Probably putting plastic-wrap on all the toilet seats," she replies off-handedly. "I won't go into where they got the idea from, it's quite a long story..."

I make a mental note to only use the small bathroom in my room for the next few days. "What do you think Adrian'll do to them?"

She shrugs, but I can tell she's laughing inside. "Restrict Stacey's monitor duty at the very least. She'll go nuts if she can't watch Gohan rip his shirt off every other episode..."

I chuckle. "Don't forget confiscating Danielle's Roy plushie."

Valerie snorts with laughter, trying not to spill her food. "Now _that's_ just cruel, Mon!"

"Oh, come on. It's not as though she couldn't steal it back in a matter of days, if not hours."

She laughs again, but apparently thinks of something quite serious, and stops. "Speaking of Adrian," she begins, "I'm sorry I put you through all that. I really didn't know you would react that way."

I frown. "React what way?"

"When I asked Adrian to help you with basic meditation this afternoon, remember?"

"No..." I look at her cock-eyed. Has she been spending too much time in the Emergency Ward again?

Val's face, so penitant and open before, suddenly slams shut. "N-Never mind."

My face doesn't change, but my internal frown deepens. She's doing it again: that thing she does where she's obliquely asking me a question, and I always get the wrong answer. Thus far I've never found the _right_ answer either. I've _never_ lied to her, but I'm apparently not telling her what she wants to hear. But I _wasn't_ with Adrian this afternoon! What could she want from me?

Stacey - no, _Ezra_ - appears with a smug look on her face, and equally smug Danielle following close behind, and the moment is broken. We all laugh and exchange stories like the best friends we are, and I allow the moment of strangeness from Valerie to fade from my mind. It's an unpleasant memory, and I don't really want it.

TTTTTT

AN: I have _got_ to write more about Monika's funny, quirky side. It _does_ exist, I promise! It's more prominent than all the confusion I've shown here, actually. It's just that, like most stories in this community, it's the darker ones that are more plot-relevant. _-sweatdrops-_


	17. Aimee: Love Is As Love Does

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library  
(And Guests)

AN: This is a collaboration between me (Ossa) and Aimee. I did most of the writing (so all errors are most likely mine), and Aimee gave me ideas and some awesome lines (so anything good is probably hers). On with the show, I suppose!

TTTTTTT

Aimee: Love Is As Love Does

While she'd have liked to romanticize it and say she was gently kissed awake by the gentle morning light seeping through the curtains, the truth was Aimee was jolted into consciousness by a certain someone attempting to drag themselves out of the siren song of bed. That wasn't the best way to start a day. From her vantage point, she couldn't see the clock's illuminated numbers, but she knew, whatever the hour, it was too fecking early. Groaning, she buried her face her pillow, lamenting the fact she would _eventually _have to get up.

"Go back to sleep." The words dripped from sleep-slurred lips with a faint tinge of amusement. In response, Aimee held up two fingers in the voice's general direction. There was a snicker that seemed unusually loud in the still air of the bedroom.

Sleep sounded good, no … more than good; heaven on Earth, but something rebellious in Aimee's soul wouldn't let her submit and follow orders. "Make me," she challenged, but the force of the statement was negated by her voice; she sounded like a whining child.

Was that a breathy chuckle she heard? "I would love to, ashaya, but I need coffee. Right now."

"You're no fun," Aimee complained softly into her pillow, but her words obviously reached the intended recipient as a soft sigh reached her ears.

"I know." A hand curled into her mussed hair, wrapping a red tress around narrow fingers. "I _need _my coffee." Oh gods, she could feel hot breath against her neck. Unbidden, her mind skipped over last night's events, so full of want and need. _Hmm, up for a second round? _"My blood is only twenty percent caffeine and I'm going into coffee withdrawals." _Oh, I see: you love your caffeinated beverages more than you love me_, Aimee thought sulkily, wondering if the words would taste as bitter on her tongue.

A sigh, as if her thoughts had been read, and the mattress dipped beside her.

A gentle kiss was pressed to her temple; the action was devoid of last night's hurried lust, but it carried something stronger, something more meaningful. She was glad her face was hidden from view as a blush staged a coup on her face, staining it crimson. It was odd, really, when Aimee thought about it; she wasn't the one in this relationship with the fear of commitment.

With a sleepy groan – it really was far too early in the morning to be thinking like this – Aimee admitted defeat. "Just go," she grinned, tasting pillowcase on her lips. Blindly, she reached out; bare skin met bare skin and she ejected them from the bed without even an apologetic smile. "Oh, and put clothes on! You don't want to scare the normal people," she paused, considered the Society in all its eccentricities, and corrected herself, "The _more _normal people, sorry." She knew if she looked up she'd see some sort of realization dawning on that face, but that was too much effort.

Clothes were wrenched from their strewn positions on floor where they'd been cast aside last night in the haze of lust, and limbs were stuffed into their confining fabrics. Soft footsteps faded away, and Aimee was alone. Cocooning herself in the warm blankets, Aimee willed herself to sleep.

TTTTTTT

Gasping, Aimee sat up, drenched in ice-cold sweat. The nightmares were back, and worse than ever; tonight her sister and her family died. Ozzy never died, though; she was never there, only her grave remained. When her running took her to the cemetery in her dream, she always paused there, as if wanting to speak words as yet unspoken, but those that needed to be heard.

What were they?

Sorry was too easy; everyone said sorry all the time. Even Ossa. It wasn't forgiveness either; Oz knew that no matter what she did, she would always find absolution with her. Aimee didn't know, and the night terrors were nothing short of terrifying; she felt every emotion like a knife to the heart, and these were friends and family dying before her eyes.

Rubbing her eyes sluggishly, she fustily wished she'd never gone back to sleep. Why did nightmares haunt her when she slept? She'd committed sins in her life, but none of them grave enough to merit such punishment. The blankets that had warmed her only hours ago felt like restraints clasping at her limbs; she kicked themoff as if they burned. After dressing, she headed to the primary kitchen, her stomach complaining the entire way there like an annoying child on a long car journey.

TTTTTTT

"You look tired," Jamie remarked around a mouthful of bacon sandwich. In accordance with Sod's Law, Aimee had slept until lunch, and was now sipping herbal tea and trying not to be disgusted by Jamie's appalling table manners.

"I'm fine," she said dismissively, buttering toast with one hand. If you could call a burnt, carcinogenic slab of what used to be bread 'toast', that is.

"No, really," he pressed. "You look like really pale. Are you alright?" Aimee said nothing and just watched as he tore another bite out of that poor, defenseless sandwich. Really, the Scot's manners were an insult to pigs, she thought as ketchup dribbled down his chin.

As the informal meal wore on, Aimee noticed him watching her, eyes lingering on her face too long for it be considered polite concern. Those blue eyes held captive something she couldn't name, or maybe she was just too afraid to. She found refuge from that penetrating stare in the book Ossa was holding inches from her face, seemingly absorbed in the written word. Aimee's mind devoured the titled, sunk its teeth into the blurb and digested the endorsement from critics. It wasn't her type of book at all – far too focused on murder and mystery to captivate her attention for any length of time – but it kept her busy, kept her from having to meet Jamie's gaze.

James had grown impatient and tired of the games, so he took matters into his own hands. Gently, he seized her chin and brought her face around until she could see the hidden depths of his eyes. Something inside her broke, and it felt like her heart; why hadn't she been able to name those emotions before? They were clear as day: worry, trepidation, dread, panic, suspicion, fear. So many feelings spread out like a rainbow in his eyes.

"Jamie …" she began, but trailed off when words failed her.

"Aye?" he prompted. Dark eyes smiled mournfully from beneath a book; how every _Scottish_.

"My nightmares are back." No more words needed to be spoken; he swept her into a hug, dropping a single kiss onto her tangled hair. He held her until all the apprehension the nightmares had forced upon her melted away like snowflakes.

As he let her go, the atmosphere changed. Ossa even put her book down.

"I didn't get much sleep either," Aimee grinned, her smile weaker than normal, but still brighter than the sun to her friends. "_Someone_ kept kicking me!"

"Maybe they wouldn't have kicked you if you hadn't hogged the covers!"

TTTTTTT

Aimee's day, it could be said, did not start out great, and as the day wore on, it grew steadily worse until it was absolutely fecking awful.

After lunch, she'd whiled away time on the Library's computer system. It was mindlessly dull, she'd freely admit, but it was at least something to do. Jaded, her eyes has roamed over the screen, noting down each tedious file name like a forensic pathologist notes down every last cut on the body of a brutally murdered victim. Without warning, the playing field shifted: Aimee had stumbled upon something … something you really wouldn't want anyone else to find, the sort of thing you give an innocuous name and hide in the depths of a file stuffed with dreadfully dull spreadsheets.

Captivated, she'd clicked … only to find the file path had changed. The video clip had vanished before her eyes. She told herself it was only natural to be curious, and she had attempted to track it down, but every time she thought she had it within her grasp, it fluttered beyond her reach. Calling the computer various names in every language she knew, she'd shoved the keyboard away, finally admitting defeat. She swore it was like there was someone _in_ the computer system moving the file right under her nose; dismissing her thoughts as nonsense, she'd hurried on to get tea.

She couldn't catch a break, and she'd found the kitchen suspiciously empty of her herbal tea. She couldn't lament this tea-less state either for one of the techies (was it Jared? It might have been – that sounded like him) had created a horrific robot that had inadvertently been set on the rampage, and it had been attempting to obliterate everything in sight, and several things that weren't (like Adrian's intestines and Aimee's rapidly diminishing will to live). Luckily, Harriet had been on hand with her trusty cricket bat.

With a growing headache, Ai had wandered the corridors, hoping for somewhere dark and quiet to sit and brood for an hour or so. Fate, it seemed, had had other plans, and ten minutes later she was irrevocably lost. She knew this because splashed across a segment of plaster coated wall was a mural she'd never seen before of the underworld of Greek myth; a sea of dark blue and grey, awash with pale imitations of souls; pain and depression woven into every corner. It was beautiful in its ghastliness.

Minutes spent lost and hopeless had slowly ticked into hours. Metaphorical storm clouds twisted and swirled above her head, and she just wanted to collapse and cry. This was too much! One person couldn't handle this much hurt and pain in a single day. Or … maybe they could, maybe she was just weak. Jamie wouldn't refuse to go on; he'd pull out a pencil and start drawing some interesting motifs on the walls. Ossa wouldn't sob her black heart out; she'd laugh at the stupidity of the Great Poker Game of Life, and demand new cards, ones that weren't so twisted and vile. Yes, she was just a weak little girl who had never learnt how to fly with her own two wings.

Wishing she'd had the foresight to bring breadcrumbs or yarn, Aimee finally emerged from the Society's version of the Cretan Labyrinth, hungry, tired and oh-so fed up with it all. The siren song of her bed was calling out to her, but she resisted; bed meant sleep and sleep meant nightmares of fire and destruction and so much death. Eyes empty, expression drawn, face pallid, she spun awkwardly on her heel and shuffled in the general direction of her favourite TV room.

A groan of worn hinges announced her arrival to the room, but the proclamation fell on deaf ears. Dark skin almost gold in the candlelight, Ossa ran her hand through her hair with frustration screwing up her features, humming something under her breath. Aimee's green eyes surveyed the room for an instant and she raised an eyebrow so perfectly, it would have made Spock blush green in shame.

"Dif-tor heh smusma," the Irishwoman smiled breathily from the doorway, amazed by the simple gesture before her. Startled, Ossa jerked, her heart leaping it her chest, frantically pounding against her chest like a caged animal seeking freedom. A candle slipped from her slack fingers, and time seemed to still for one crystalline moment; the bright beacon of flame atop the wick curled and exhaled a single breath of smoke, while the main body of the candle hung in the air as if suspended there by invisible string.

Time caught up on the situation and hot wax dribbled thickly over the carpet. "Sochya eh dif," Ossa returned with a slight blush tarring her cheeks a rather interesting shade. She plucked the candle from the floor before it could do any real damage and ruin this liaison, but her mind was contemplating a billion chances, resolving a million situations and anticipating a thousand questions.

"Is this a date?" The question, dripped from those lips and laced with amusement, threw Ossa.

"Well," she began, knowing she had no idea how to answer it. "I suppose … it might be a date, but only because you've had a bad day and I thought doing this would make you feel better. I know we're not … well, like that, and if it's not what you want, you can go, 'cause it's just me being stupid. Really it is. You should just go, t'hy'la; this isn't very good or any-"

She found herself silenced by a pair of lips against hers, and she leaned into the overpowering taste of _Aimee_, drinking in the lingering tang of bitter tea and the syrupy sweetness of strawberry.

"Tell me," Aimee said lowly after they separated, "how many escape routes are there?"

There was a shuffling pause, clothes were readjusted, strands of hair were fiddled with and eyes were suspiciously not met. "Eight."

An incredulous giggle bubbled to the surface, and then she was laughing until her sides ached and her eyes were red with tears; only Ozzy would have continuance plans for a _date_! Oh, the fecking commitaphobe!

"Plan of action?" she snickered, her breath coming in uneven gasps.

"I have the best takeout pizza, and we're going to eat it while watching Doctor Who reruns … if you want, that is." A genuine smile spread across her face like butter on warm toast. "Or, if you prefer, I have the second season of Torchwood on DVD; we could watch it and ogle Gareth David-Lloyd." It shouldn't have been possible, but that amaranthine grin got even bigger; it seemed to extend beyond the dimensions of her face somehow.

"Have I told you I love you?"

There was a sharp inhale, but an answer of, "No, I don't think so…"

Aimee promptly shoved her against a wall and snogged her brains out. When they came to eat, the pizza was decidedly cold.

TTTTTTT


	18. WARGS: The Bloody History of Gamers

Insert These Are Our Moments Here  
By Master of the Library  
And Guests

_A/N: I don't understand the rules of this game..._

By the way, Tash wrote this piece!

TTTTTTT

**The Bloody Legacy of Gamers**

"Okay...this is it," Louise's expression was deadly serious , as she leaned over the table, and into the faces of her three companions. The room was quiet with anticipation, and even the clocks seemed to have fallen silent.

"The ultimate showdown," Tash declared in a dark voice. Alice was bouncing so fast in her seat that she appeared to be vibrating on the spot, and Dave just looked amused by their antics.

Louise slammed a deck of cards into the middle of the table. "One round of Bloody Legacy! Sudden death!"

Over their shoulders, a small group of Society members watched in amusement. Several were skiving off from their assigned duties, but most of them just wanted to see the kind of games that the WARGs played on a regular basis.

"...they take this waaaay too seriously," concluded Jared. He smelt faintly of hot motor oil, having been called up from his lab by a curious Chloe to watch the spectacle.

"They're WARGs," Michael shrugged. "What do you expect?"

"So, what does the winner get?" Rhia asked curiously. The four opponents, seated at the four sides of the small square card table, went back to their glaring faceoff.

"Dignity," Alice giggled.

"Pride!" the deck was shuffled fast in Louise's hands as she spoke.

"Respect!" Tash thrust a finger straight up into the air, trying to appear dramatic.

"...okay, whatever you say," Rhia rolled her eyes. Dave sighed.

"And a free meal at the Royal Oak, when we head there in an hour," he explained. "Well...when I say _free_, I mean the losers are paying for the winner's lunch."

"No more talking!" Tash ordered. "Deal them Louise!"

The command was followed, Louise's hand moving so fast that it appeared as nothing more than a flesh coloured blur. Three cards were deposited before each player, and Louise returned the remainder of the deck to the centre of the table. Lightning fast, Alice slammed her hand down on it.

"Alice calls it," acknowledged the only male player. "She goes first."

"Heeheehee!" Alice chuckled, and Dave shrunk back in his seat, as the disturbing grin was turned onto him.

"Dave, Oddly Placed Lamppost!"

As she spoke, Alice plucked a card from her hand, and deposited it in front of Dave. The card image depicted a badly drawn cartoon man, slamming face first into a lamppost, stars exploding around his head. Alice immediately drew from the deck to replace it.

"I'll take it," Dave nodded, pulling the card towards him.

"My turn," Louise announced, selecting one of her own cards. "Alice, Extra Sharp Ice Skates."

Examining her hand, Alice scowled and discarded a card, bringing her hand down to two, as Louise drew up to three once more.

"Right, Alice," Dave grinned from behind his beard. "Just for earlier, Pool Of Semi Digested Carrots."

Alice pulled a face and discarded another card. "Damn you all!" she whined. "You're killing me with Banana cards!"

"Serves you right for hitting me with the lamppost!" Dave declared.

"Louise," Tash interrupted before Alice could inflict some kind of retribution. "Cupboard Full of Cats."

"Its All Done With Mirrors," Louise placed a yellow card on top of Tash's, which depicted a man, holding a mirror in front of him like a shield, obviously intending to reflect the attack. She then slid the cards over to Dave.

"...isn't this a tad barbaric?" Cristoph inquired. "The whole point of this game is to kill your friends...and using highly unorthodox methods too..."

"Its Just a Hologram," Dave placed another card on top of the two, before moving them to the discard pile, and drawing up again.

"A hologram of a Cupboard Full of Cats?" Jared tilted his head to one side, clearly entertaining some very amusing images.

"Can I eat it?" Tyler asked hopefully.

"Not if its a hologram you can't," Michael reminded him.

"Tashy," Alice placed a card before the leader. "Oops, That Blunderbuss Was Loaded."

The leader twitched. She had no trick cards in her hand, so she took it reluctantly.

"This game looks fun!" Jared grinned. To his left, Michael was smirking.

"I'm sure we've got a blunderbuss somewhere in the armoury..."

"Dave," Louise turned to her friend. "Over Aggressive Goose."

"Honk, honk," Dave quipped, accepting the card, and placing it next to the Lamppost.

"Can I eat that?" Tyler asked. Rhia rolled her eyes.

"Better stock up on goose..." she muttered to herself, already mentally preparing a shopping list to satisfy Tyler's extreme appetite later.

"Alice," Dave smirked. "Alien Slug Beast."

"Awww!" Alice wailed, throwing the last card in her hand to the discard pile. "Killed by Banana Skins!"

"Dave," Tash immediately moved into her turn. "A Complex System of Levers, Pullys, Cogs and a Baseball Bat."

"After You My Lady," Dave placed a yellow card on top of the trap, and pushed them both over to Louise, who shrugged and accepted the card, while Dave drew up again.

"Alice is out," Louise felt the need to remind everyone. "So its my turn. Dave, have a Falling Bookcase."

There was the sound of knuckles on wood, as the Librarian felt the need to knock on the table for safety. Dave however, was quick on the uptake.

"Duck," he passed it back to Louise, before adding, "quack!" as an afterthought. Tyler gave a moan, and clutched his rumbling stomach.

"You're mean!" he whined. Louise checked her hand and headdesked.

"Bugger!" she complained. "Killed by my own bookcase!"

"The end is near!" Tash chanted excitedly.

"Not for long," Dave retorted, slapping a card to the table. "Falling Grand Piano!"

Tash checked her hand, and the excitement slid off her face like custard from a spoon.

"Bollocks!" she cried, and Dave let out a cheer. The watching agents, realising that the beyond strange game had come to an end, began applauding.

"That was fun," Louise admitted, as Alice got up from her seat, bent over, and squeezed Dave tight around the ribs.

"Well done Dumpling!" she began to vibrate on the spot again. "You are made of win, with a side of awesome." Dave took his reward, though from the odd gasping sounds coming from his mouth, it sounded more like a punishment.

"Thanks...Alice..." he finally managed to choke out, before she released him. "But you're still buying me lunch!"

"Cock..." Alice cursed, before taking his arm and attempting to nom it.

"Alice, don't break him," Tash warned, as Louise packed up the deck. "We need him for the Nationals next year."

"Heeey!" Louise paused suddenly in shuffling the deck through her hands. "There's a card missing!"

There was a confused silence, broken by the sounds of wet chewing. Slowly, everyone's eyes turned to Tyler, who had a piece of soggy card hanging from the corner of his mouth.

"What?" he asked innocently. "You didn't say I couldn't eat the duck!"

TTTTTTT

_A/N: __I still don't get what happened...*head explodes*_


	19. Cristoph: Everything and a Bag of Potato

**And here we are! Cristoph's Moments fic!**

**This fic takes places throughout Isis the Sphinx's **_**Insert Bad Superhero Name Here. **_

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the characters appearing within, except for Cristoph and Algazdun.**

**Cristoph: Everything and a Bag of Potato Chips**

* * *

_One Week Earlier_

Cristoph Asahina of the Anti-Cliché and Mary-Sue Elimination Society was no stranger to the dark. He was a ninja, after. His domain was the dark. But that's not to say all darkness was not created equal. Call it what you like, but Cristoph had an uncanny ability of sensing things about the dark. Take the darkness that struck the Library Arcanium. All of a sudden, all was dark. Cristoph knew that this darkness was a sign that all was not well, and he needed to be prepared for whatever came next.

Okay, so anybody could've been able to tell that. Don't be so snippy.

Cristoph burst out of his room fully-armed for battle, looking around to see where the commotion was, weaving in and out of the books, but suddenly, the lights came on again and people were cheering for Phoenixia and her computer prowess. He sighed. So much for that, then. Nonetheless, he followed the gaggle of Agents to where he found Emotion Marcus keeping them away from something and Thought Marcus, his other half, was in the corner, shaking like a leaf.

"What's the holdup?" Michael, veteran Sue hunter and Chief Agent, called from the back.

"YOU NEED TO SEE THIS," Emotion Marcus called, his voice like a bullhorn in the hubbub. "TASH, HARRIET, VALERIE, AND CRISTOPH SHOULD SEE THIS, TOO."

All at once, Cristoph was struck with more dread than facing Melanie in his nightmares for a second round. People were murmuring to themselves as Michael made a hole and allowed Cristoph to follow him, as Tash, Harriet, and Valerie were already on the way into…Rhia's kitchen.

_Oh no…_

Harriet was first in, and immediately stumbled against a wall, a clatter of pots and pans ringing out. Valerie was next, and she immediately went in, stony-faced. Tash was third, and she followed Harriet's lead. Then came Michael, who breathed something under his breath. Cristoph made to come in, but Michael put an arm out and only spoke three words.

"Brace yourself, Cristoph."

He moved aside, and the ninja felt all the blood leave his face. Rhia was dead, lying in a pool of her own blood, pots and pans all over the floor and her best kitchen knife stained in blood.

_No…no…no, no, no, no!_

"Milady Rhiannon…" the words escaped his lips. Disbelief. Anger. And sorrow, too.

He knelt down, touching her face. It was still warm, meaning that this was recent. And her blood on her hands told him this was real…

"Who did this?" Cristoph asked, clutching a bloodied fist and his voice like a storm on the horizon. "I will find them, and they will regret this. They will regret this, and they'll pay."

He abruptly left the kitchen, the other Agents giving him lots of space until, stopping in some corner of the Library, he finally gave the wall a hard punch and the most heart-wrenching howl of sorrow left his lips.

* * *

_Five Days Earlier_

First Adrian was dead, and now Rhia. His life was going to hell in a hand-basket.

At first, he wanted to believe he was having another nightmare. Heaven knows it would certainly explain it, that perhaps he had fallen asleep again in the hospital ward, and that any second Valerie or (kami willing) Rhia would burst through, trying to wake him up. Two days later, he was attending Rhia's wake. Simple, clean, and closed-casket.

It was there, as he was placing a single white rose on Rhia's casket, that he realized she was gone. Forever. Only flicking Algazdun's helmet, thus causing the armored red-tailed hawk to peck him on the head a couple times in retaliation, was enough to stop him from breaking down right then and there. He returned to his seat, stony-faced and pensive.

It only got worse as the day went on. Eventually, Algazdun got fed up with the ninja messing with his helmet every five minutes and flew off back to his nest back in Cristoph's room. And wouldn't you know? Next came the reading of Rhia's last will.

_No, no, no, no…kami, wake me up from this nightmare…!_

The will was not necessarily a somber affair, as befitting Rhia's personality. But the last part…oh the last part. That was the last nail in his own coffin, right there.

"Well, I'm gonna say it now, even if it's too late, it should be said…Cristoph Asahina. I love you."

Cristoph's pupils dilated. _No no no no no no! This cannot be happening! This cannot be happening!_

"Goodbye, my gallant knight-errant."

He could've sworn he could've reached out and touched her face, right then and there. His hand reached and came back empty. His mouth didn't move, but his mind was in panic mode.

_Rhia! Rhia! Don't leave me here! Don't leave me all alone!_

"This concludes my final will and testament."

_Rhia! RHIA! _

And the rest was silence, as Cristoph, alone in front of the TV, got on his hands and knees and wept bitterly for the loss of one of the one true friend he had ever had in the Library, the Society, and all.

* * *

_Thirty-Six Hours Earlier_

A week had gone by. Cristoph hadn't left his room for at least a couple days, tired of having to have people talk to him about…recent events. It was nearing sunset now, by the orange light filtering in through his window.

Squawk.

Something was nibbling his ear. Cristoph made to swat it away, thinking it was one of those infernal tribbles that Jared had brought into the Library a few weeks back, only to find it was Algazdun. The hawk was now in his enlarged form, now about the size of a large dog. In its talons was the one thing he didn't want to see: his journal. A gift from Rhia for Christmas.

"Go on, get out of here!" he snapped at the bird, chasing it out of his room to squawks and screeches of defiance and confusion. It still dropped the journal on the floor, so Cristoph just tossed it on the futon he didn't use, only to remember that Rhia had slept there when she came to seek him for advice, and instead tossed onto the table where his still-as-of-yet-unfinished yari was placed in two pieces on a nearby table so he could go back to brooding.

"The brooding ninja. How stereotypical."

"Oh, hell, not you," Cristoph groaned at Phoenixia's voice wafting over Cristoph's Communicator.

"Come on, Cristoph, you need to come out sometime," Phoenixia stated firmly. "You just can't lock yourself in your room."

"I can sure as hell try."

"Look at you, Cristoph, you're a mess. We don't want to see you beating yourself up over this all by yourself."

"Not like it'd matter."

"Rhia wouldn't want you to, either."

She touched a nerve. Cristoph pulled out his ninjato, swinging it at the Communicator with a loud yell. A section of the bookcase it was sitting on slid off and fell to the ground with a clatter. The Communicator remained.

"You missed, didn't you?" Phoenixia herself entered the room, folding her arms.

"Why do you torture me?" Cristoph didn't even bother sheathing the weapon, just tossed it aside like a forgotten sack of potatoes. "I don't need you to add to this! Everything is going to pieces around me!"

"Cristoph, I-" Phoenixia was suddenly interrupted by the voice of Michael on her Communicator.

"_Phoenixia, call an emergency Society meeting. We have a Sue in the Kick-Ass fandom."_

"Am I authorized to drag Cristoph out of his room?" Phoenixia asked.

"_Use any means necessary. We might need him for this one. I'll explain when you bring him in."_

"Gotcha," said Phoenixia, grabbing the ninja by the arm and pulling him out of his room. "Come on, ninja-boy, we've got a job to do and it's likely you'll be needed for this one."

Cristoph had a sudden flash of Melanie in his mind, but at this point, he didn't care and just dumbly followed the buxom Agent out of the room.

_

* * *

_

One Day Earlier

Cristoph could barely see anything in the crate. In fact, the only light was an orange light bulb overhead. Again, there was something about the darkness here. Normally, he felt alright in shadows, but it was so reminiscent of where he had ended up during the Sue invasion so many months before that he almost expected hearing voices again. No such luck, though. All that was here was the shadows that felt more like a giant black ooze rather than a great big cloak.

The crate was empty, save for two chairs, rope, a five-inch knife, and some unrecognizable shape somewhere in the corner. He began to creep forward, just as his eyes began to adjust to the light…

The lump was a person, huddled in a corner like a caged animal. He blinked, rubbing his eyes to make sure Melanie, wherever she was, wasn't pulling another fast one on him.

"Rhia?"

No reply, not even a gesture. He put a hand on her shoulder, but she cringed and shied away, like a beaten dog. He pulled it back, tilting his head. This was definitely Rhia, but…something was wrong. Very wrong. What in all that is holy was going on here?

He sat down in the crate next to her, as close to her as he would dare, and slowly intertwined his hands with hers. Slowly, she began to feel his palms, scarred and callused through the extensive training he'd put himself through to take his mind off the events of the past week. It was here that he noticed how large his hands were compared to Rhia's. His palm alone was about the size of her whole hand.

She began to uncurl, like a lotus, and Cristoph began to see the damage Roxelana had wrought.

_Oh, kami, Rhia, what did she do to you?_

Rhia began to reach out to something, looking for some kind of surface to put it on, something to tell her it was the one she'd been calling for all this time…without a second thought, he took the hand and placed it on his face. Her thumb traced the edge of his cowl while her fingers traced his face, until she finally embraced him, clutching to his shoulders like a vice.

Rhia was definitely blind, more than likely deaf, and possibly mute. But she was alive.

And for Cristoph, that was the only thing that mattered.

_

* * *

_

Eighteen Hours Earlier

"She's not going to recover with all of you hanging around here!" Tash shouted over the hubbub of Agents trying to see if Rhia really was alive. "If your name's not Valerie, Michael, or Cristoph, get out! Or I will start chucking things at you!"

The Agents began to disperse, slowly, chattering amongst themselves.

Cristoph started reaching for the shuriken in his shirt as he stood alongside Tash. "Very. Very. Sharp. Things."

Ten seconds later, there wasn't another soul in sight.

"I believe that's my line, Mister Asahina," Tash said to the ninja.

As always, Cristoph pulled down his cowl in respect to the ACMSES leader as he bowed apologetically. "I apologize, Lady Tash. I just…acted, without thought."

Tash put a hand on his shoulder. "Only to be expected. You've had a rough week. I know, I have, too."

"Damn, what a mess," breathed Michael, watching as Valerie continued to work on the wounded Agent before her. "What'd you do with Roxelana?"

"I don't know, I left her in Lord Willie's charge when I went to explore the crate she was in. But if there's one thing I'm sure of, Roxelana is certifiably insane. She actually laughed when I threatened her with my fubukari after I got the Prohibitor on her. And I lace those with neurotoxins," Cristoph explained, joining him at Rhia's bedside.

"Great, another insane one…" Tash shook her head. "We seem to be getting a lot of those lately."

_

* * *

_

Twelve Hours Earlier

Cristoph dashed through the corridors of the Library, heading for the medical ward. He had left Rhia's side only to go look for Algazdun, knowing he owed his feathered ally an apology after the events of earlier that day, managing to find him with Jared, of all people, watching as he worked on his truck. Why the bird happened to be there was a total mystery, but the good news was, he and Algazdun were back on friendly terms.

The only thing was, leaving Rhia's side may not have been such a good idea, because Valerie came looking for him and stated that Rhia was having a panic attack, most likely because being deaf, blind, and mute and not knowing where anybody or anything was definitely cause for alarm in these circumstances.

Rounding the corner and turning into her room, he found Rhia reaching wildly at the air, hyperventilating, and thus confirming his thoughts that perhaps leaving her side to find his hawk was not such a good idea, and with no better idea in mind, immediately threw his arms around her. Rhia stiffened, but then relaxed when she realized who had come back.

"…istoph?" her voice was cracked, high-pitched, and barely audible. Cristoph tightened his embrace in answer. "…water."

Cristoph turned his head, looking around for some, and was graciously supplied by Valerie before she left the pair of them alone. Cristoph guided the cup in Rhia's hands to her mouth before she spoke again.

Cristoph reached for a chair, watching as Algazdun flew in, the rope Cristoph used for his nightly meditations in its talons. Then…

"Stay with me, up here? Please?"

Cristoph instinctively found himself raising the front half of the bed and joining her. Algazdun understandingly dropped the rope on the chair Cristoph had brought over and perched on it, watching as Cristoph let Rhia sit in his lap, putting his arms around her. He wondered why his body was reacting on its own, but he let it pass, preferring to just consider himself blessed and take his miracle as he melted into her embrace.

He listened to her tale, of how Roxelana had taken her, how she took everything from her, piece by piece, how she screamed for him for two days before her voice vanished. Her hearing was next to go, and then she began to see less and less until she could see nothing more. She was still deeply disturbed by what had happened, even though she was now safe in the ninja's embrace.

When she fell asleep, Cristoph looked over at Algazdun. The hawk blinked, then seemingly nodded and flew off the chair back to his nest in Cristoph's room, leaving him alone with Rhia. It seemed like Algazdun was suggesting he…

"Rhiannon. I know you can't hear me, but I need to say this, because if I don't, I fear I'll never get another chance. In a sea of nothingness, you took my hand…" he began to speak, his voice strained and quavering at first, but gaining strength with each word. "And you led me out across the waves of darkness into the light…you gave me a reason to be. Not to live, but to simply _be_. To exist. And it's the greatest gift I could ever have asked for. You…you're everything to me. No, you're more than that…you are everything, and a bag of potato chips.

"I know it sounds silly…but truly, how do you describe someone who gives you the strength to carry on, even when you have nothing more than a name, a deck of cards, and a giant armored bird to rely on and your mind is a blank slate? The answer is simply…everything, and something else. As for why I chose a bag of potato chips…I honestly don't know. I guess it's because I'm hungry after avoiding the kitchens as much as I have this past week. I really have missed your cooking.

"But I'm getting off track. I guess what I mean to say is…" he gulped, and then spoke the words he'd wanted to say, perhaps since meeting her. "You called me your knight-errant. If that is what you see me as, then your knight-errant I will be. For you. Because…I love you."

He didn't bother using the rope that night. He just stayed in the bed next to her all through the rest of the night.

_

* * *

_

Present Time

"Rhiannon. If you didn't have the courage to say it then, then take the courage now, and say it here. You should have no regrets. Not with that."

Cristoph mentally facepalmed. He'd been practicing that line for a few hours, while he waited for Rhia to wake up this morning, and again, he sounded like he was forcing her to say it. Of course he wanted to hear it, but was he saying it like that? And the grabbing the chin with his fingers? How the devil was that romantic?

Rhia was just surprised in general about it, but eventually he heard what he was looking for. "Cristoph Asahina, I love you."

_Okay, don't screw this up; you've only got one good shot at it, easy, easy, easy…_

Cristoph put his lips to Rhia's and held.

At last. Catharsis. The emotions that he'd been holding within him just…vanished. In fact, it seemed like everything vanished. All that remained was him, and Rhia, and the fact that he was kissing her. A million little lightning bolts began to surge through his body, even after he managed to pull away, the pair of them both breathless…and red as cherries.

"I lost you, and then by complete and total luck I have you back. I'm not going to waste that."

They kissed again, longer and deeper than before, before coming away. Cristoph rested his forehead on Rhia's, just…savoring the moment. Why it took this long for him to realize this feeling, he'd probably never know.

_Another thing I don't know about myself to add to the list._

"That was…really, really, nice," Rhia said finally.

Cristoph smiled, placing a hand on her face and tracing her cheek with his thumb.

"One thing, though…"

"Hm?"

"Wish I could see you. Would make this more enjoyable."

Cristoph laughed…actually laughed. "It won't be too difficult to start this up again, Rhiannon."

"Mm…sounds good."

Just as they were about to go for the rule of threes, however, a voice interrupted them.

"Cristoph?"

The ninja panicked, wondering what Valerie would say if she found them like this, but he felt a finger on his nose, which then was lowered to his mouth. Rhia smiled and mouthed "it's okay." Turning his head, he found Valerie in the doorway. The healer smiled, and then continued. "Michael's looking for you. He wants your mission statement from last night."

Nodding, he turned to Rhia and instead settled for a kiss on the forehead. "I'll be back to check on you tonight, okay?"

Rhia nodded, sliding off Cristoph's lap and back onto the bed as Cristoph swung off the bed, grabbing the rope he didn't need and left the room. Once out of earshot, he looked around to make sure no one was watching, then breathed a loud, long, and triumphant…

"YES!"

And he went off to Michael's office with a bit of spring in his step and triumphantly humming the chorus of "Strike of the Ninja."


	20. Combee: Bee Yourself

**A/N: **Hey folks. Mei here. I've been slaving over this fic in pieces for ages. About enough material was cut for a second story. And I'm still not happy with it, but I think this is as good as its going to get. So here we go! A small piece of Combee's adorable life.

Also if I didn't get your Pokemon in, I'm sorry – I sacrificed giving everyone cameos in order to stop the story dragging. Hope this is acceptable.

* * *

**Bee Yourself**

"The boardroom is in use today by the Counter Guardians – please stay out of their way guys. Also Tash is running Fire Marshall training at three in training room five-"

Watching Miss Hari-Hat speak was like listening to those funny people with white collars talk about this God person, Combee thought. You knew they were saying something important and grown up...but because she was a baby she didn't understand any of it. That did not mean that did not have opinions on it regardless. For instance, she'd always thought that this God person sounded a little weird (and that was _her _talking!), but apparently he had a nice fluffy beard like Santa Claus, so he must be an okay person.

Miss Hari-Hat did not have a beard (that would be silly!) but when she talked, everyone listened. Combee knew it because she went to the meetings with Daddy every morning and watched everyone sit up straight when Miss Hari-Hat entered the room. It was like she had invisible strings attached to their backs like those puppets that Mister Davey liked to watch on TV, and she pulled them straight every time she walked through the door. One day, Combee was going to find those strings and make everyone jump up and down in their seats. That would be even funnier than the time she made a paper tornado out of the documents on Daddy's desk!

Seated around the table, she found the people who were really special to her. Miss Hari-Hat obviously, with her pretty brightly coloured clothes and her beautiful smile. Auntie Miri was yawning. Daddy said she had been on a 'night ship' or something like that, where she got to stay up past bed time and watch TVs. Combee thought that sounded like a great idea, though she wondered why it was called a ship. She hoped that Auntie Miri would let Tailsy out to play soon. She missed her big sister-like friend.

Auntie Tashy was sitting next to Daddy, chewing on a pen and pausing occasionally to take notes. Combee liked Auntie Tashy. She was tough and always knew what to do if there was a problem. Plus she was pretty when she set herself on fire like a big Moltres. Something small, white and furry put its paws on the table and peered over the surface with huge violet eyes. Mister Kitty was in Auntie Tashy's lap. Combee giggled. Only special people got to sit there, and she was one of them.

And then there was Daddy, in who's lap she currently sat. Tilting her head upwards, she saw him, with his head resting on one of his hands, gazing off in a vacant way. That usually meant that he was pretending to listen. Daddy was a very good pretender, Combee thought. He liked to pretend that he was fine a lot of the time, when he wasn't really. It made her worry. Today though, he seemed really fine. He had had a lot of fun playing that funny video game that he enjoyed with Auntie Tashy, with the rocks and the big trees and green monsters that made things go boom. That always made him smile.

Combee took a deep breath. She smelt Daddy first, as she was sitting in his arms. She wriggled her nose at the smell of mint and soap. It made her feel safe. Taking another deep sniff, she honed in on the next smell. Bergamot (Auntie Tashy) and apple (Mister Kitty), followed by a mishmash of a lot of people – strawberries, grass, oranges, violets, tea, spices. She couldn't smell Auntie Miri because she was too far away, but she knew she smelt of pine, like the huge Christmas trees that she liked to bounce on.

"Last item on today's agenda," Miss Hari-Hat (who smelt of juicy papayas) was saying in a loud voice. "Today is Bring Your Pokemon To Work Day! So feel free to let your teams out to stretch their legs!"

There were a few raised eyebrows. Apparently this event was spontaneous.

"Sweet!" Michael broke the silence, and Combee grinned. More friends to play with sounded like a great idea to her.

"Half of us do that anyway," Alice pointed out, gesturing to herself and Robert, who had Litwicks on their shoulders.

"Yes, but this time its official," Harriet stated grandly. "Which makes it an even better idea than before!"

As she spoke, she plucked a Poke Ball from her waist and threw it in the air. Mudkip appeared in a flash, chasing its tail around the table. Michael and Tash, being leaders and wanting to set a good example, released their own Pokemon onto the table, and Combee leaped into the chaos giggling with glee. More enthusiastic flashes of light burst into the room, and Combee found herself quickly being squished into a corner by the mass of bodies.

"Okay who's bright idea was it to release their Tropius in such a small space?" Harriet's voice appeared from the middle of the room.

"Sorry, that's mine," Alice called.

"No she's not. She's mine," Adrian objected. "That one throwing bananas at Michael's Infernape is yours!"

"Oh yeah, sorry..."

"Ow!" Ben whimpered. "That's an Aggron on my foot!"

"Oh he's mine!" Kyle yelled. "Sorry! Aggron, stop breaking Ben! That's Shirley's job!"

There were two loud roars, and a pair of Gyarados in the corner began snapping at each other furiously.

"So this is one of your better ideas, Harriet?" Michael asked dryly.

"I'm the leader!" Harriet protested, from where she was squished against the table. "All my ideas are better!"

From high in the air, Combee giggled to herself. Today was going to be an excellent day.

OOO

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

Michael looked up from his paperwork just in time to be tackled by his excited youngster.

"Sorry, the door was open," Tash quipped, stepping over the threshold and kicking a stack of paperwork over before it could bite at her ankles.

"Daddy!" Combee bounced in his lap in excitement. "We have amazing news! Auntie Tashy was on bulby-pedia and she found that there are more attacks that I can learn! But she says I have to be tooted them! Will you tooter me the moves? Please Daddy? Please?"

All six eyes became impossibly wide, as she gazed up at her father. Behind his glasses, Michael took a moment to digest all of the information before replying with a grin.

"Well if it's on the internet, it must be true!" He patted her on the head. "What moves would you like to learn, baby?"

"YAY!" Combee nuzzled at his neck excitedly. "Thank you Daddy! I want to learn a new flying attack! So Auntie Tashy said I should learn Air Cutter!" She nodded decisively. "There was attacks like Mud-Slap and Snore, but that's silly, because anyone can do those if you're in a muddy puddle or very sleepy!"

"Why don't you let your Daddy pick an attack too," Tash suggested gently. "Since he is the one who will be tutoring you. Then you can go to the training rooms and get started?"

There was a fluttering of papers accompanied by a "ZOOOOM!" as Combee sped from the room at top speed to claim a training room. The closer she got, the more noise she could make out. The sounds of explosions and high energy attacks being blasted around. It sounded like her kind of party! But still, she had to wait for her Daddy, so she slowed down and came to a stop outside the door.

"_I'm a bee. I drink tea. Won't you bounce around with me...?" _She paused in her excited bouncing as a short figure in a blue waistcoat came trotting down the hallway. "Ooo! Miss Emmy!"

And she plunged down Emily's waistcoat and snuggled her chest. "Ooo! You're growing pillows on you like a marshmallow!" she giggled.

Blushing red (and reminding herself to go bra shopping again soon) Emily plucked the excitable Pokemon out. "Hey Combee baby. What are you doing here?"

"Waiting for Daddy and Auntie Tashy to stop being Slowpokes," Combee explained. "Daddy is going to teach me a new trick!" she frowned, as from the recesses of her scatterbrained mind, she remembered something. "Ooo! Auntie Tashy was looking for you! I remember! She was on bulby-pedia and said she had something for you, and then we started looking up me and what moves I can be tooted, and then we went to go find Daddy!" She smiled, pleased with herself for remembering.

It took Emily all of a second to translate from Combee-speak, by which point, Tash had flashstepped around the corner, panting.

"Damn, she moves fast!" she said.

"Auntie Tashy!" Combee leaped out of Emily's arms and began snuggling her relative. "Miss Emmy is there, and you has something to give her!"

"Yes I do," Tash nodded, picking Combee up and holding her at eye level. "But do you remember what I said about it, Combee?"

"Umm..." Combee thought for a moment, before all three of her faces grinned again. "Yes! You said it was a very important and very fwagile thing and I have to be calm around it."

"Very good," Tash nodded, before handing her back to an exhausted looking Michael.

"Daddy!" Combee only just seemed to have noticed he was there. "Let's go train! Let's go train!"

"In a minute..." Michael gasped. "Just give me a sec, to catch my breath..."

Confused, Combee tilted her head. "Catch it? D'you need a net?" Her attention was caught as Tash pulled something small and round out of her bag. Combee's eyes went wide. "Ooo! An egg!"

Sure enough, it was an egg, about the size of an ostrich egg, and covered in jagged patterns of yellow and black. Combee sniffed it, and smiled.

"Its pretty! Who's egg is it?" she asked.

"Shimeti's," Tash said. "She had it two nights ago. Emily's going to raise it."

Carefully she passed it over to Emily, who cuddled it safely to her chest. "Are you sure Shimeti doesn't mind?"

Tash nodded. "We talked about it. She wants it to have a good trainer, and you're one of the few people she actually likes."

"Silly Auntie Tashy," Combee admonished. "Everyone likes Miss Emmy! And everyone likes you Auntie Tashy! And everyone likes Daddy! Everyone likes everyone in here!" she giggled.

Tash gave a dry smile. "Hmm...I wish that were true Combee." There was a groan from behind her, and she turned to see Michael getting back to his feet. "Back with us then?"

"Huh? Did Daddy go somewhere?" Combee asked curiously. Everyone facepalmed.

"Never mind, sweetheart," Michael said, already exhausted from running after his wayward child. "Let's go train."

OOO

"Okay Combee, one more time. Ominous Wind!"

Combee took a deep breath, her face screwed up in concentration.

"Wooo!" she said as dramatically as she could. "Fear my scariness!...heehee! I'm sorry Daddy! I can't do it! It's so silly!"

She barrel rolled a few times, as Michael planted his face in the palm of his hand again. A red imprint was beginning to show on his forehead.

"Maybe this wasn't the best attack I could have picked for you..."

"Face it Michael," called Emily, from the next ring over. "Combee can't do scary."

She was interrupted by a bang as Yumi, her Masquerain, went flying into the ring wall once more. Wincing, Emily jogged to her stricken bug Pokemon's aid, her movement hampered by the small rucksack being worn over her chest to contain the egg.

"And Yumi can't seem to do Water Pulse," Michael threw back. "So we're both about as successful as the other." He sighed heavily. "At least there were no problems with Air Cutter."

Catching the end of the conversation, Combee flapped her wings, sending sharp blue slivers of energy bursting from her tiny wings, shredding a wall panel in the ring to tiny pieces of chipboard.

"...wow, cheap construction," quipped a new voice.

"Nice to see you too Alice," Michael deadpanned. "And it's not cheap, Combee is just badass."

"Cheep cheep!" Combee giggled, thinking the word to be referencing the bird call. "Cheep cheep!"

The Society's self proclaimed Pet Search Engine, folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head. "Oh yeah...that's totally terrifying." she deadpanned. Michael flushed.

Bored with the grown up humour (which was going over her head) Combee buzzed back to her starting point in the ring. The Pokemon training room (which oddly had never been discovered until today) was a vast space, with nine individual training rings lined neatly in rows of three down it. There was a space at one end by the door, where punch bags, dummies, bars, bouncy balls and other training aids were kept, and bowls and bottles of water ready and waiting to refresh Pokemon and human alike.

Combee was pleased to see Alice and Robert taking the middle ring, diagonally across from Michael and Combee's corner ring. Emily and Yumi were on the left directly opposite the door, and Tash was just vacating the ring behind them, with a pair of binoculars strung around her neck, and Thoth trotting serenely behind her. They made a beeline for the water station.

"One more time Combee," Michael sighed. "Ominious Wind!"

Drawing another deep breath, Combee began to spin rapidly, an unsubtle and unscary 'woooooooo!' coming from her mouth. It did not last long, bursting into a hail of giggles as she lost control and rolled like a wheel into the ring barrier once more.

"Heeheehee!"

Shoulders slumping, Michael sat down at the edge of the ring, and rubbed the dent his glasses were leaving in the bridge of his nose.

"Having problems?" a new voice asked above his head. Michael looked up to see an amused looking Jared looming over him.

"Problems of a concentration nature...Combee just isn't scary – she finds herself too funny to be frightening."

"Ewww!" Combee declared, having got over her dizzy spell and straightened up into a low hover. "What smells?"

"That would be me," came a highly affronted voice, and Combee found her nose inches from Jared's humourless looking Muk.

"Oh...sorry," Combee sheepishly put on her most winning smile.

"Its okay Combee," Muk replied dryly. "We all know you can't help it."

And he oozed into Tash's recently vacated ring, with Jared right behind him, both ducking as the ring behind them exploded into a blazing aura of energy, and a frazzled looking Gareth began shouting apologies. Apparently he had just broken his third TM of the day.

"There has to be some way to make this attack work," Michael was wracking his brains. "It must be possible – the internet says it is!"

"Have you tried putting her in front of someone who's afraid of bees?" Alice asked.

"No, because Tashy's afraid of bees and she adores Combee," Michael explained.

"Course I adore Combee!" the Society leader announced, approaching the ring, and sweeping Combee into a giant cuddle. "She's so adorable!"

"Yay! I'm adorable!" the bumblebee Pokemon giggled.

"That's the problem," Michael deadpanned. "In this situation at least."

"You're adorable, Daddy!" Combee chirruped, as the humans snorted with laughter. Michael went pink again, and scowled (clearly the Darkness was enjoying himself a little too much at his host's expense).

There was a bang as a ring of water blasted its way through the barrier surrounding the next ring. Soaking wet, Emily and Yumi both began performing a victory dance, which Combee was only too happy to join in with, bouncing off the walls and floor like a beach ball.

"Tada! Yumi learned Water Pulse!" Emily cheered, dripping steadily onto the floor. A few people applauded.

"Better dry that egg off," Michael advised, throwing her a towel from the side of his ring, lifting an eyebrow as Tash deposited her belongings next to their ring. "Why did you bring binoculars?"

"I need them to find Thoth when he's doing Aerial Ace," Tash explained. "It saves me having to put my glasses on."

"Oooooh! Daddy!" Combee had pressed two of her eyes against the small end of the binoculars. "Yumi put weight on!"

"No baby, that's just the binoculars making things look big," Michael explained in a patient voice.

But Combee was having far too much fun now as she nosed the binoculars around the room.

"Ooooh! Auntie Tashy! You're MASSIVE!" she giggled.

"Let me see?" Alice bent down to have a peek and burst out laughing.

"Maybe its a sign you should cut back on the brownies?" Louise suggested, as she approached with her Litwick on her shoulder. Robert's Chingling bounced excitedly, and the two went off to play together.

Rolling her eyes, Tash reclaimed her binoculars, turned them around the wrong way, and peered through the large ends of the scopes.

"Oh look Louise – you got shorter," she grinned, ducking the hand on a collision course with her skull. "Hey! No beating the leader!"

"Now now children, play nicely," came a decidedly northern accent, from the other side of the ring. Dave had squirreled himself in the far corner and appeared to be attempting to teach Zena the Zoroark how to use Shadow Claw.

"Whaaaat?" Alice's face was a picture of total innocence, and Louise hid the binoculars behind her back, leaving Tash to rub at her abused skull. Combee couldn't help but notice a vacant look on Robert's face, and it made her curious.

"_I wonder if Mister Robbie isn't sleeping properly..." _she thought to herself. "_Maybe that's why he looks all dreamy. He needs someone to tuck him into bed at night like Daddy does with me...ooooh! Maybe Miss Ali can do it! He likes Miss Ali! I'll bet he'd let her tuck him into bed!"_

Pleased with her deduction, she made a mental note to tell Daddy about her thoughts later.

There was another bang, and Gareth's ring filled with smoke. From within, everyone could hear the Society's inventor sighing heavily and deciding to call it a day. His Vaporeon emerged from the smoke cloud, with an unamused expression.

"Okay Combee. Just one more time," Michael said slowly. "Then we'll call it a day too."

"No progress then?" Tash asked sadly, leaning over the edge of the ring to watch.

"Nothing," Michael sighed. "I remember it being hard to teach her Swift, but this is just...on another level."

"You sure Bulbapedia wasn't lying to you Michael?" Emily suggested, towelling the last of the water off her hair and recalling Yumi.

"It was on the internet! It must be true!" Michael proclaimed firmly.

"Isn't that what you said about that 'sue' in Bioshock?" a new voice asked in an amused manner. "Y'know, the one who turned out to be canon-"

"Shut up Adrian..." Michael grumbled.

"Oh look Alice!" Louise said loudly, holding up the binoculars the wrong way around to her eyes. "It's a big pompous gorilla! There in the distance!"

She handed the binoculars to Alice, who laughed.

"Oh yeah. Actually that's a very nice way of looking at Adrian!"

"Very far away?"

"Yeah."

"Daddy!" a voice chirruped over everyone's conversations. "I found what I need for my scary attack!"

Dreading what he might find, Michael turned to face the voice...and screamed like a girl.

"See?!" Combee giggled, peering through the six badly cut eyeholes. "Its a sheet! And it works!"

Everyone chortled into their hands as Michael straightened his glasses and tried to affect a look of dignity. He plucked the bedsheet off Combee's head (wondering in passing where she had got it from) and pointed at the middle of the ring. "Ominous Wind!"

Combee took a deep breath and flapped her wings hard, wind whistling around everyone's ears. A cloud of purple smoke began to gather before her and swirl around in the tornado, which gathered in energy before thundering out over the ring with a deafening roar.

"Yay!" Combee squealed as the cloud dispersed. "I did it!"

There was a round of applause from the ring, and Combee gave a bow in midair.

"I did it! I did it! I did i – Daddy?" Combee peered down at the dazed lump. "Why are you on the floor?"

"Nyeeeeehh..."

"I think you may have got him with your scary attack Combee."

"Oh...whoopsie!"

OOO

There were a few things that Combee understood completely in life - and one of those things was secrets. She knew about secrets. She had a few of her own, like her secret honey and Watmel recipe that she was going to try out when Miss Rhi-Rhi left her kitchen unlocked. And she kept a few for other people, like Auntie Tashy's passcode to the safe in her office, which Combee had found out by complete accident when she had barged into the room without knocking (Daddy had told her off about that a lot of times, though she hadn't understood why - it wasn't like she hadn't seen Auntie Tashy's bare bottom before).

Her biggest and latest secret was about the Dumbleydore man in the Twilight fandom, and she had promised to Daddy on her very secret recipe that she would not tell anyone. Daddy had said it would be dangerous if anyone else knew about it, and she must never let anyone know about him ever. In exchange, she was allowed to go with Daddy when he visited the Dumbleydore man in the hospital. He had been there for weeks now, and had not stirred once. Combee was very worried. She had given him many of her kisses, but he did not seem to be getting any better. She was sure that one of Daddy's kisses, which were far more magical than hers and could heal all her owies in an instant, would make the Dumbleydore man right as rain in a matter of moments. But Daddy had ignored all her suggestions to do so, much to Combee's bemusement.

She had not initially understood why Daddy wanted it to stay a secret. But now she was starting to have an inkling.

Combee was not very technologically able or literate, so the finer points about (a) slipped her by. All she knew was that she was a Soup person, who for some reason, was not kept in the basement. She popped up at random moments and giggled in a strange fashion in a voice that echoed through the halls of the Library. Despite (a)'s mental age being only a bit older than hers, Combee herself found her a little worrying. She looked like a very skinny Abomasnow in that outfit, and Combee did not like Abomasnows. They had bad tempers and made her very cold. And everyone knew that cold was bad for bumblebees.

"Please tell me Combee?" (a) begged, her hands clasped in a prayer as she gazed beseechingly at the Pokemon, perfectly three dimensional and hard-light thanks to a nearby holographic projector. On a normal human being, this look of desperation and purity of intention would have had anyone eating out of the palm of the Sue's hand...fortunately for the Society however, Combee was not normal.

"I'm sorry Miss At, but I can't tell you anything," Combee said honestly, chomping her way through another stalk. The Watmel berry dropped neatly into the basket. Alone of everyone else in the world, Combee did not give (a) a nickname. She was far too uneasy about her to offer endearments.

"Please?" (a) asked again, and Combee wished that she would leave her alone. This was a delicate operation she was attempting, and (a)'s presence was distracting her. Baring her teeth, she chomped hard through the next stalk, her Bug Bite attack making quick work of it. Another berry plopped into the basket.

"What if I gave you your own Watmel tree if you told me?" (a) tried. Combee's mind went blank with excitement at the thought of that much sweetness. But fortunately for the Society, a tiny worm of common sense caused this excitement to abruptly peeter out as she remembered her own limitations.

"That wouldn't work Miss At. How would I water it? I don't have any hands." She shook her head with a smile. "Silly."

Another berry. Her basket was getting quite full.

"I'm not silly!" the Sue objected. "I'm just...lonely."

"Lonely?" Combee paused in selecting another Watmel. She could still carry a few more...

"I have friends in the Twilight fandom," (a) explained. "And I can't speak to them because of the precautions that the Librarian put up around it."

"Yeah, they're to stop anyone seeing..." Combee shut up, realising that she was treading dangerous water (which was bad, because bumblebees couldn't swim). As a Pokemon she relied on her sixth sense, and right now she had the horrible feeling that she had when she was up against another Pokemon using Double Team - the feeling that she was about to be tricked.

"Seeing what?" (a) urged.

"Nothing!" Combee whined, picking another berry in her mouth. Her teeth punctured the skin and the sweet juices ran onto her tongue. "I'm not telling you anything! Stop being mean! You is a bully, trying to trick me into saying-"

A key rattled in the lock, and both Combee and (a) went still.

"Uh oh!" Combee gulped. She would not have time to carry that heavy basket up the way she came in, so she picked up another berry in her second mouth, and the basket in her third. As the lock turned and slid backwards, Combee swung the basket and flung it straight into (a)'s startled arms. She zoomed off up the ventilation shaft with her two prizes before the Sue could call after her.

"(a)!" she could hear Alice's surprised and alarmed voice as she made her escape. "What are you doing with that basket?!"

"Its not mine!" (a) wailed desperately. "I'm just holding it for-"

She never got any further, as an enraged voice interrupted her spluttered explanations.

"MY TREE!" Castform, usually docile and smiley in nature, now sounded apocalyptically pissed off. "YOU STOLE ALL THE FRUIT!"

"No! Wait! OW!"

There was a flash like the first spark on a campfire, followed by a crash and a smell of burning wicker. Pleased with her daring adventure, Combee buzzed off in the direction of her Daddy's room to eat her prizes in peace.

OOO

"Ooo! Daddy!" Combee squealed in excitement, her six eyes wide. "What's _that_?!"

Michael looked skyward, causing Combee to tumble off his head with a giggle. "That looks like Adrian's Wailord to me."

"Oooh yes! So it is!" Combee giggled. "But why is Naughty sharing a tank with Fish Finger?"

Michael sighed. "Probably because he's too big to fit anywhere else."

Naughty – proper name Nautilus – sailed serenely through the water above their heads. It really was a testament to how big the Library's aquarium was, for the four hundred kilo whale Pokemon and the pet Liopleurodon had yet to cross paths (it was possible that Fish Finger had smelt how big her new roommate was and was wisely keeping a wide berth).

"Don't worry baby," Michael patted his charge on the head. "Its only Bring Your Pokemon to Work Day today, so I'm sure Adrian will recall Nautilus this evening and give Fish Finger her room back."

"Good!" Combee smiled. "I like Fish Finger. She smiles at me."

Banishing the terrifying thought of Fish Finger and her rows of interlocking teeth smiling at his infant Pokemon, Michael cuddled Combee to his chest and hurried off down the corridor.

"Miiiiichael!" a voice called, and he turned to see Emily racing towards him. She was pink cheeked, and had clearly been running for a while. The rucksack and egg were still hanging off her chest.

"Hello Emily," Michael said. "Are you trying to work up steps for your egg?"

Sighing in only a manner that a disgruntled teen could manage, Emily rolled her eyes. "No! I'm looking for Mimi. Have you seen her?"

"Which one is Mimi again?" Michael asked, scratching his head.

"Oooh!" Combee bounced excitedly in Michael's arms. "I see Mimi! I see Mimi!"

Michael turned back towards the tank...and blanched dramatically.

"Oh dear God!"

He hastily covered Combee's eyes.

"Heeeeeey!" Combee squirmed, trying to look over them.

"Huh..." a new voice appeared, causing Michael to jump. "I always wondered if Hot Skitty on Wailord Action was actually anatomically possible."

"Well there's your answer Tash," Gareth said musingly.

"ADRIAN!" Emily exploded as the Librarian himself arrived on the scene, turning as pale as his fur as he took in the actions in the tank above them. "WHAT IS YOUR WAILORD DOING TO MY SKITTY?!"

Adrian spluttered before answering. "I think what you should be asking is what is your Skitty doing to my Wailord – seems to me that the cat is dominant in there!"

"Daddyyyy!" Combee wailed. "Lemme seeee!"

She peeked over the top of Michael's hands, long enough to see a slowly building crowd of Society agents (Miss Hari-Hat had pulled out her phone and was taking pictures) peering up at Fish Finger's tank, where a flash of pink was just visible behind the huge hulking whale.

"Adrian, if this results in an egg, you had better take responsibility for our child!"

"Why do I have to take responsibility?! Your Skitty is the horny one!"

Michael covered Combee's eyes again and sprinted away.

"Daddy! What was everyone looking at?!" Combee demanded, bopping her father on the head as soon as he released her. Michael rubbed his head and looked pained.

"I'll tell you when you're older baby..."

OOO

The Library was rarely quiet. Combee knew this. Even when the agents slept, a whole new host of interesting noises came out. Snoring, sleep talking, happy giggles from couples having kissy time.

Now, as people fought over plates and banged cutlery together as they shovelled food into their mouths, silence was a million miles away. And Combee liked it this way – people having fun made her day much better. Even Miss Rhi-Rhi's Pokemon, who were helping keep the kitchen clean, were having fun drying the dishes and storing (or eating) the leftovers.

Unfortunately it was difficult to have fun when two of your friends were growling at each other, static sparks bursting randomly off their fur. Combee was a little anxious – electricity was no good for flying creatures, and she was very close to being a crispy fried bee. They did this a lot, but tonight seemed a little more ferocious than usual.

"Thothy," she nudged the tall Xatu in the side. "We should tell Auntie Tashy and Mister Davey!"

Thoth, who had been standing sentry with only his right eye open, blinked both of them owlishly at her. "Not necessary Combee," he told her, in his high born accent. "Its their Rivalry ability. It will die down in a little while."

Another rush of electricity rippled over blue fur.

"She does have a point," Infernape said anxiously, backing away into Michael's chair leg. "They look way more irritated than usual."

"Shimeti's a bit on edge," Yumi said wisely. "Hormones and all that."

"Five poffins on Asuka!" Flare (Adrian's Ninetails) said.

"And just where will you get those? The poffin fairy?" Typhlosion asked dryly, stealing bits of food off Tash's plate when she wasn't looking. Combee's eyes went wide.

"There's a poffin fairy!" she squealed, bouncing up and down. "Yay! Can we go find it! Can we?! Can we?!"

She squealed in alarm as a bolt of lightning lashed out not far from her bowl. Rolling out of her nosedive, she straightened, and faced the two flash Pokemon with a scowl. There were more important things than the mystical poffin fairy right now...

"Suki! Shimi!" she put her best grown up face on (which unbeknownst to her caused her to inflate like an enraged Jigglypuff) and flew between the feuding parties. "Daddy says you shouldn't start fights with your friends!"

"...really?" Infernape asked. "That sounds...way too passive for Michael."

"Inferny, don't interrupt me when I'm being sophistimicated!" Combee pouted, her butchering of the English language causing a few people to snicker. Asuka and Shimeti's coats dulled slightly, but they retained their crouched positions.

"You almost frazzled us!" Combee continued, trying to regain her firm tone. "And I don't wanna be a crispy bee! And Thothy doesn't wanna be a crispy duck!"

Thoth squawked indignantly. "I beg your pardon?!"

"So you be nice, and you say sorry, and then you come help me find the poffin fairy!" Combee declared, looking giddy once more at the thought of all those delicious baked goods.

Asuka and Shimeti's stances did not budge an inch, both of them staring at each other, daring their respective rival to make the first move. Combee inflated further.

"DON'T MAKE ME MAKE YOU HUG!" she bellowed, in one of her rare fits of irritation. In fact they were so rare that they attracted the attention of everyone in the room, human and Pokemon alike. Asuka and Shimeti cowered against the floor.

"Sorry!" they both squeaked fearfully, and Combee immediately shrank back to her usual beachball size, her most endearing smile on her face.

"Much better! Now come on! Let's go find the poffin fairy and get tasty treats!"

And she bounced out of the room, humming to herself. Over the table with the humans, Michael silently thanked every deity in existence for Everstones.

The humming was cut short by a glow of light from down the corridor. For a horrifying moment, Michael worried that he had just jinxed himself.

"Oooh shiny!" Came Combee's predictable response. "Miss Emmy! Its shiny!"

The glow rose to a blinding sight that caught the attention of every living creature in the kitchen. Knives clattered forgotten against plates, as everyone willed the walls to vanish so that they could see what was happening as the glow died down.

There was a long silence through the whole Library...and then from somewhere in the corridor, Emily's voice squealed a fangirlish manner.

"SHINY!"

Dave poked his head out of the kitchen, and smiled. "Why yes. Yes she is."

OOO

The Shinx was a girl, and Emily named her Sanura. She was black and gold from her fuzzy round ears to the tips of her very ticklish paws, with not a hint of blue anywhere.

"Is shininess genetic in Pokemon?" Emily wondered aloud, as she tickled the newest member of her party under the chin. The flash Pokemon mewled and rubbed her head against her hand.

"No idea," Harriet shrugged. "Though I'm sure if you asked Alice nicely she could compile a nice encyclopaedia of research on the genetics and breeding of Pokemon – I mean you've seen her mountains of genetic research on cats, right?"

Emily frowned at the thought of that much reading. "Ehh...maybe not. Too much effort." She pulled a face. "And besides, I learned more about breeding today from all that H.S.O.W.A earlier than I ever wanted to know in my life."

"Daddy!" Combee headbutted her father in the elbow. "What's hache ess oow double yew ay mean?"

Michael rubbed his forehead. "I'll tell you another day sweetie..."

"Okay," Combee smiled, causing her trainer to sigh in relief. Fortunately Combee had such a short attention span – otherwise she'd probably still be trying to organise an expedition to catch the poffin fairy...

"Daddy?" Combee frowned, with the look of somebody who had just remembered a question that had been plaguing them all day.

"Yes baby?"

"...where do babies come from?"

Michael turned a funny shade of pink at that, but he quickly realised he had an easy escape route. "From eggs, baby. You know that."

"I know that," Combee nodded, blinking up at him innocently. "But where do the eggs come from? How do they get made?"

The colour deepened to a brilliant shade of crimson. "Uhh..."

"_Oh I always knew this day would come,"_ the Darkness was practically giggling. "_Sorry host, but you're on your own this time!"_

"_Fuck you very much for your support..."_

Those inquisitive eyes probed him even more, raising a tide of emotions in Michael. Embarrassment, exasperation and – despite all of these – a great deal of paternal affection for his adorable little baby.

"Well Combee..." Michael took a deep breath, and decided he might as well go with the traditional broad strokes. "When a man and a woman – or a male and female Pokemon – love each other very much..."

OOO


End file.
